TheAlienHeart: We talked via PM hehe but again, thankou/sorry! xD
Krumelmonster: I think I probably mention it in a future chapter but she just turned twenty-three and he's nearly twenty-two. And awwe thankoooou! xD Oh, and he's done with all that now. He's gonna "grow up or whatever" lol.
Guest: First of all THANKS! XD And do NOT worry about that, I will definitely finish this.
Other Guest: LOL my bad. And thankou! XD
Okay, so, I think it's safe to say that in a way, the worst is definitely behind us. There are ten more chapters to part II after this one and I dare say they're rather satisfying, so don't give up on me hehe xD I won't take too long to come back! Probably a week or so.
Wherever I Go
Garfield liked Siren Raven as much as any other Raven. He liked her wicked smirk, her sexy strut, the mischievous glint in her eyes. On the other hand, it all still made him feel terribly guilty, because he was fully aware she could be happy and free instead of struggling as much as she was. Therapy had really helped him understand what his actions had cost her and his hopes of being forgiven were basically gone. He was helping Damian try to find a way to help her, but it seemed hopeless so far.
So, he decided to live with what he did the best way he could. He connected with The Red more often to understand how his powers worked. He didn't need to look up new species in books anymore; he could just find them in The Red, even if he'd never seen them before. And his control was better than ever, so he started practicing changing isolated parts of his body. He also found out Conner or anyone else's teasing didn't bother him as much. Garfield would even go as far as saying he genuinely liked himself now. If only he could have been this version of him sooner – he definitely regretted not being this version for her.
But even though he had accepted his guilt wouldn't go away and he'd made a mistake he couldn't fix, denying how she made him feel was pointless, so he embraced the fact that he craved Siren Raven really badly. Wherever the Sirens went, the Titans were there trying to ruin their plans and he was always so excited about it, because he got to see her.
They didn't usually succeed in frustrating the villains, because they had completely overtaken the outlaw world and Raven would bend the minds and hearts of any cop, lawyer or judge that dared try to put one of her allies in jail. Anyone who crossed her ended up there or worse, though. So there wasn't much of a point capturing anyone else while she was loose. Still, the Titans kept them from getting too out of hand. The Justice League was growing impatient to get the situation handled, but Superman's possession had made everyone nervous. They knew that as bad as it was, if she got angrier, it could be much worse.
Garfield always tried to confront her whenever he could, mostly because he was lusting after her. She usually got the best of him. Now that her values weren't keeping her from using certain powers anymore, she was nearly impossible to beat. And she could still control his shapeshifting – though it seemed for some reason that was becoming gradually more difficult.
But sometimes the Titans managed to keep her busy and tired enough to frustrate the Sirens' plans, and then the Changeling always made sure he was there, because he got to tease her a bit. She showed up in his dreams too. Like on this particular morning. He woke up sweaty, after dreaming of Siren Raven tied to a chair, smirking sensually and asking him what he was going to do with her. The shapeshifter took a cold shower before heading out for breakfast.
"Morning." Garfield greeted the Titans who were already up – meaning Nightwing, Robin and Bumblebee.
"Morning. You've been waking up earlier." Richard pointed out approvingly.
Garfield shot him a broken smile. Nightwing had given him a half-hearted apology for the whole Rouge-Raven incident, and he'd accepted it because he didn't have it in him to be angry or resentful anymore. He knew Dick had been mad at him since she left and he probably didn't think of him at all when he thought he was kissing her, and that still hurt, but mostly he just wanted to go back to normal and it hurt a lot less now that he knew it didn't actually happen. Also, if it really was Rouge, the shapeshifter knew how manipulative she could be. And ultimately, he couldn't be that mad at Dick for making a huge mistake when he'd made huge mistakes too. So Nightwing had gone back to being his leader as usual – but their friendship was definitely shaken.
"So we were just talking about who could maybe help us catch Rae." Karen said. "What about Zatanna? She's a powerful sorcerer."
The Changeling frowned. "So is Klarion and he still needed Satan's help."
"That's what I said." Damian stated pointedly.
"But she must be tired, right? Doesn't she have to keep manipulating all those slaves like, all the time?" Bumblebee asked.
"Nope." Garfield shook his head and drank some juice. "She explained it to me once. She can alter stuff permanently. Not like, entire personalities, but…yeah she could make someone loyal to them. She doesn't need to do it continuously."
Karen sighed. "Right, well…then, who else could help? You know…other than Satan."
"Trigon. Or Raven." The Changeling shrugged, eating some tofu.
Bumblebee rolled her eyes. "That's not very helpful."
"He's right, though." Nightwing grumbled.
"Maybe Darkseid could help. Give him a call." Damian smiled slightly, sipping his coffee.
Richard and Garfield chuckled softly.
"Oh I know, let's free Eclipso and ask him for help. I'm sure he resents her." The shapeshifter joked, getting more laughter out of the other two boys.
"Very funny." Karen rolled her eyes again, chuckling along with them. "You guys are useless."
"I mean, I want to get her home too, trust me." The Changeling said sincerely. "It's just that…anyone who could contain Raven is like, way worse than Raven. You know?"
"Exactly." Robin nodded. "Besides, she's not that bad."
"Yeah, I think we can work with this version." Nightwing agreed.
"You three are delusional softies, you know that?" Bumblebee smiled fondly at them. "What's your plan, then?"
"I think we need to accept this is the best she can do now." Damian said plainly.
"I agree." Richard nodded, eating a waffle. "We'll keep stopping them whenever we can, but I don't want to bother her further unless we have something to offer. Have you two found a way to help her, by the way?"
"Sorry. Ascending opportunities for demon halfbreeds don't turn up on every corner…" Robin frowned. "And I don't know who could save her soul if God's Mercy can't."
Garfield looked down, suddenly feeling sad and ashamed. It had been easy to tell himself he would find another way, but now that he was actively trying, he understood what a rare chance that had been. I ruined her life. She can't even have a nightmare without shutting down a huge part of her. How did I not see how hard everything was for her? "I'm so sorry, Damian."
Everyone frowned at him in confusion.
"Why?" Robin narrowed his eyes at the shapeshifter.
"I just…you went through all this trouble and you got her a way out and it was amazing, you know? What you did. It was really nice. It meant everything to her. And I went and blew it. There was a point I even resented you. I'm really sorry."
Their expressions softened significantly, because every word that came out of his mouth was dripping with sincerity.
Damian smiled sadly. "Yeah, don't worry. We're cool."
Starfire and Superboy came in, looking flushed and flirty. This had been going on too. After Dick's screw-up, it didn't take long for Conner's advances to pay off. Neither one of them wanted to make a big deal out of it and turn it into a relationship, but Kory and Conner had been making out here and there. Superboy told Nightwing it was simply not in his nature to pass on an opportunity like this, and Richard knew it was his own fault, so he decided to suffer in silence. At least they weren't dating.
Still, when they came in like this it made his heart sink and his stomach twirl. Dick also still found it extremely hard to play the leader role whenever it involved her, not only because he felt too guilty to give her orders at all, but because she would barely look at him. Cyborg came in next, kissed Karen's cheek and then went to make some bacon. Ravager was next and she silently walked over to the seat next to Damian, who instinctively and discreetly pulled the chair for her.
"So, what were you discussing?" Victor asked, putting an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders.
Bumblebee smiled up at him. "Just that these three want to give up on trying to come up with a way to contain Rae at all. I guess she'll just be a recurring villain for us to fight now."
"Really? Oh, good." Starfire smiled. She hated the whole capture-Raven-to-turn-Raven idea anyway. She knew all it would do would be angering her.
"You meant supervillain." Superboy pointed out, earning light-hearted chuckles from everyone else.
Rose nodded, taking a bite of the bacon. "Yeah, I'm fine with that. At least she's keeping things interesting. And we can team up with them whenever there's a big bad around."
"That's a good point." Cyborg pondered. "It's not like we've ever been perfect."
Karen shook her head and smiled. "Fine. But what do we tell the Justice League?"
"We can tell them we don't need to report to them." Conner shrugged smugly. "Honestly, I'm sure they've considered several plans too and if they knew how to stop her, they would have by now. They won't do shit."
Nightwing nodded. "I actually think you're right."
"So since that's settled, can we start decorating the tower for Christmas?" Cyborg grinned.
Damian realized Rose had frozen and frowned and he whispered to her while everyone else chatted loudly about their plans. "Have you ever done Christmas?"
"Only as a kid." Ravager whispered back to him. "Am I supposed to get gifts and stuff?"
Robin chuckled softly. "You don't have to, but you'll definitely receive them."
"Great." She said sarcastically. "What else?"
"Just prepare for corny soppy shit." He told her. "But the food is great. You'll like it."
Rose rolled her eyes and pretended to be annoyed by the idea, though she was secretly considerably curious. Maybe even excited. "If you say so."
When Christmas' Eve came around, the tower was beautifully decorated. They watched Christmas movies and Rose and Damian made fun of the tacky romances in them together. Starfire and Superboy got a little flirty and Nightwing covered up his heartache. Cyborg and Bumblebee made googly eyes at each other the whole time.
Garfield didn't watch any movies. He stayed in his room making a particular drawing and listening to Against All Odds. The more he worked on his insecurities and the more he remembered their relationship, the more he realized how much she'd loved him. And then he realized his pain probably wounded her, so he decided to spare her. Whenever they met he would be charming and cute, but he wouldn't cry and he would try not to hurt. He did that in his own time now, so it didn't rub off on her.
"Hey, BB!" Victor said happily when the shapeshifter finally left his room around dinner time.
"Good to see you, Gar." Starfire smiled at him.
The Changeling beamed at them. He'd done enough suffering for the day. "I wouldn't miss dinner."
Garfield enjoyed the meal with his friends and even shared a laughter or two with Nightwing, but he missed Raven's vegan Christmas cookies.
Later, he pulled Starfire aside. "Hey, Kor. Can I talk to you?"
"Yeah, of course."
"What's with this Conner thing? Is it serious or is it just payback?"
The Tamaranean frowned. "I…I don't know. It's not serious…but it's not just payback. It's fun. I guess it's kind of like a…"
"A distraction?" The shapeshifter gave her a knowing smile.
Starfire chuckled softly. "You would know, huh?"
"Yeah, and I'm totally not judging. But…distractions don't really work in the long term, trust me. You'll still have to deal with your feelings for Dick…"
Kory grimaced and whispered. "I…I don't know how to do that…"
"I know. But I just wanted to tell you that when you're ready…I know I'm no replacement for Rae, but…you can talk to me about it if you want. In your own time."
Starfire watched him intently for a few seconds and chuckled.
"What?"
The Tamaranean smiled. "Nothing, it's just…she would be proud of you."
That brought a slightly sad smile to his lips. "I hope so."
The next morning, as they were opening their presents, they realized it was a bittersweet Christmas. It was sweet and friendly, but there was a huge part of them missing. And then Nightwing's communicator rang.
"Hi, Dick."
Everyone jumped a little, because it was her voice. Richard quickly glanced at it, but he couldn't see her face.
"Raven!? How did you…"
"I still have my old communicator." The empath said blankly. "Anyway, it was Rouge you kissed that night. And I know who she's working with."
Nightwing frowned and all his muscles tensed up at the mention of Madame Rouge. Starfire's eyes widened – along with everyone else's.
"Who!?" Cyborg yelled into the communicator, since Richard seemed to have frozen.
"Lex Luthor." Raven answered. "He was here kissing ass while she was there kissing Dick. But he's behind the whole thing. I think the point was to get you to fight amongst you and to get you to fight with me too."
Nightwing's brain started functioning again. "Oh, shit. Do you know why?"
"I think he wants Garfield."
The Titan leader frowned at the shapeshifter, who shrank and grimaced.
"He kept talking about experimenting with his DNA when we had him in the tower." Raven explained. "I don't think he gave up on that."
Garfield turned a very pale shade of green.
"Don't worry." Nightwing gave him a reassuring look. "We won't let him get you."
"Yeah, man, not gonna happen!" Cyborg ruffled his best friend's hair before shouting at the communicator. "And thanks, Rae! We'll take care of him!"
"Yes, thank you." Dick spoke to her again.
"Sure. Also, they don't know we know. Let's keep it that way, yes?"
"Absolutely." Richard agreed. "This is really helpful, Raven. Seriously."
"I know. Merry Christmas." The sorcerer said in a softer voice.
Nightwing smiled. "Merry Christmas, Rae."
And then he passed the communicator to Starfire, who was already eagerly reaching for it.
"Rae?" Kory asked.
"Hey, Kor."
"Merry Christmas. We miss you."
There were a few seconds of silence before the empath spoke again. "…yes, well, there's no need to make this overly sentimental. Merry Christmas and everything."
She hung up immediately and Beast Boy and Starfire shared a look, because they could both detect the subtle emotion in her voice.
On New Year's Eve, it was Batman's turn to call them.
"We have a bit of a situation, Titans." Bruce stated.
"Dad, can you not stall for once?" Damian said impatiently. "It's New Year's Eve, we have places to go."
Batman sighed. "Cancel your plans. Your girl stole the book back."
Richard frowned. "The book? You don't mean the magical book that summons the dead, do you? The one we sent to you for safekeeping?"
"…yes, that book."
There were several frustrated sighs and grumbles across the ops room.
"Seriously? I thought it answered to Zatanna now." Nightwing said.
"It did, but she was injured in a fight and I guess your girl gets privileged information because she took the chance to sneak in and claim it back."
Richard sighed and rubbed his temples. "Awesome."
"Listen, the rest of the Justice League is busy with something, but I'll help. I know the other Sirens. Besides, even if Raven possesses me, I can't do as much damage as Clark."
"Right. Well, she probably won't possess you." Damian said.
"Very reassuring."
"When can you get here?" Richard asked.
"I'm here."
"He really is here." Cyborg said in awe, watching the cameras. "Like, he literally just got here as he said that. Did he time this in advance or something?"
Nightwing and Robin spoke in unison. "Probably."
Once Batman joined them, they began strategizing.
"So, breaking into Siren Mansion is nearly impossible at this point." Superboy pointed out.
"I agree." Richard nodded. "We'll create a diversion and draw them out, then a few of us can go in and look for the book."
"How about this factory?" Bumblebee pointed at a particular building on the map. "We could attack it, it's under their control."
"Good." Nightwing agreed. "Rose and Damian, you get the book. Take Krypto with you."
"Try stealing the sex crystal while you're at it." Conner smirked.
Richard hesitated. He didn't really want to go along with that. "I mean…"
Bruce's face distorted in confusion. "The what now?"
"It's a magical thingy that can block her powers." Kory explained. "But only if she does it to herself." She quickly added when she noticed Batman seemed interested. She didn't really want to steal it either.
"And why is it called the se- oh." Bruce Wayne's eyes widened as he uncomfortably realized the answer to his question. It was way more information than he needed or wanted.
"We can't steal that." Garfield said pointedly.
Batman frowned. "Listen…"
"No, she needs that." The Changeling insisted. "I…look, when we teamed up she told me she had been having nightmares since the Joker and for all we know, she's still having them. Without that crystal, her powers would get out of hand. No one wants that."
Nightwing smiled slightly at him, feeling extremely relieved. "No, no one does. So, that's out of the question."
"May I ask why you didn't attempt stealing this before she healed the Joker?" Batman raised an eyebrow.
Richard sighed. "We thought about it, Bruce. But honestly, it seemed too dangerous. It's probably in her room and that's probably cursed or something." He looked at Damian and Rose. "I'm hoping the book isn't there, actually."
"Don't worry." Damian smirked. "If we get stuck in Doomsday's room, at least she won't be as annoyed as if any of you did."
Rose chuckled. "True."
Ravager, Robin and Krypto did their best to get in undetected, dodging and avoiding the many threats and traps of Siren Mansion – not to mention the many allies and slaves that stayed behind to guard it. They were stealthy, but it wasn't an easy task, so Damian let his father and brother know it would take a while.
In the mean time, the Titans battled the Sirens. Raven had been busy keeping Superboy from completely destroying the drug factory and most people were engaged in some personal confrontation, which is why when Poison Ivy kissed Batman, no one saw it until it was too late. And then all they saw was him convulsing on the floor.
Nightwing ran to his father, shooting the redhead a furious glare. "What did you do!?"
Ivy shrugged innocently. "I just gave him a peck."
"Is this going to kill him?" Richard hissed, fighting back tears.
Pamela smiled wickedly. "It might be a slightly deadly poison, yes."
"Tell Damian…tell him…" Bruce panted, holding Dick's hand.
And then desperate tears rolled down Nightwing's cheeks. Fuck. No. Please. "I know, I will."
Starfire had already flown to Raven and Conner, getting between them and pointing towards where Richard was kneeling next to an unconscious, growingly paler Batman. "STOP! LOOK!"
Raven's eyes widened slightly, but she also noticed Damian and Rose were nowhere to be seen. Neither was Krypto. She teleported to Ivy's side and glared at her. "What did you do?"
Selina clearly wasn't okay with it either. The empath sensed worry and heartache emanating from her, but she didn't say anything.
Pamela rolled her eyes. "What!? I didn't touch your precious Titans! You never said anything about not killing the Justice League!"
Raven frowned at the sound of Harley's hysterical laughter. "Well, you're wasting time. This is a trap. They're not all here. They're probably invading the mansion to get the book back. Go back and help Klarion."
The sorcerer opened a portal and the Sirens walked through it. Superboy swiftly flew in too to help the others now that their cover was blown. Raven took one step towards the portal and stopped, feeling the grief that was pouring out of Nightwing. She turned around to look at them. Richard meant a lot to her. And he was hurting deeply. She thought about Damian. He also meant a lot to her. She knew what this would do to him. The fact that he wouldn't even get to say goodbye would destroy him. That was their father on the floor. She closed her portal.
Well, fuck.
"Get out of my way." Raven said intently, decisively pushing anyone in her path and walking towards Batman, stretching her arms out. Her eyes glowed scarlet red. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."
Garfield watched in awe as her body floated into the air and her short hair flew around in the wind. Richard looked up too, though with a much more hopeless expression on his face. Ivy's venom spread quickly and it had infected most of Bruce's body at this point – saving him seemed impossible. Starfire also watched intently, because no matter what Dick had done, her heart was absolutely shattered seeing him this hurt.
Raven focused. She focused on anything that did not belong in his blood stream. That strange, toxic substance. That's it. It was all over his body already. She frowned as she carefully worked on isolating its' energy so she could manipulate it. And then she made small, delicate finger movements, slowly pulling it away from his organs and steering it through his blood vessels and back into his digestive system. Okay, easy now. Careful.
It was much harder than fixing Damian's spine. It was nearly as difficult as bringing Garfield back to life, except she had white magic on her side when she did that – so in a way, this was even harder. She knew she was sweating and holding her breath because she was in pain, but she wasn't done yet. The empath made another hand gesture to pull all the poison out of his body and the minuscule particles would have been invisible to everyone else if they hadn't been glowing with magical energy when they emerged from Bruce's parted lips.
Batman inhaled sharply and opened his eyes at the same time Raven collapsed hard on the floor, panting and grabbing her head. The Changeling and Starfire tried to approach her, but a few of the Sirens' servants had stayed behind with their mistress and they immediately surrounded her. She wasn't sure if the Titans would try to capture her or not, though she could sense their intentions weren't hostile. Don't pass out. Not now, not here. The sorcerer steadied herself and stood up.
Nightwing was hugging a baffled Batman with tears in his eyes. He looked up at her with utter gratitude. "That was incredible. Thank you."
Bruce Wayne frowned in confusion and followed his son's gaze towards her. Then his eyes widened. Wait, did SHE do this?
Raven huffed. "It was difficult, is what it was. So Batman, next time maybe don't kiss her? Now if you all excuse me, I'll go frustrate your little trap."
She gathered all the strength she had left to leave with her minions through one last portal. Garfield immediately turned into a falcon and flew to Siren Mansion, holding the sheet of paper he'd brought with him between his claws. Starfire and Bumblebee flew after him. The others knew they wouldn't get there in time, so they told Batman what happened while Nightwing hurriedly called Damian.
Robin had just grabbed the book from Raven's throne and tossed it to Superboy, who was planning to grab it and fly away with it, when the ancient artefact was encased in dark energy and stopped midair before it could reach Conner's hands. Then it flew to its current rightful owner's hands. She grabbed it and smirked.
"Uh…Nightwing? She's here. It didn't work." Damian spoke into his communicator.
"Okay then just get out of there, all of you." Richard answered urgently.
"But what about th-"
"Just leave it, Robin!" Dick practically shouted. The truth was he knew Raven couldn't protect all of them from all her allies at the moment. The HIVE, the other Sirens and the other villains wouldn't hold back from attacking his brother and his friends and she had spent too much energy on Batman to stop them all.
It wasn't an easy escape, but Starfire and Bumblebee got there in time to help them. The Changeling remained unnoticed and he debated with himself about whether to leave with them or not. He looked at Raven. She was comfortably seated on a throne, with her legs crossed and the necromancy book on her lap. Her face was serious and full of confidence as she watched everything that happened around them.
Garfield turned human, hiding and folding the piece of paper he brought with him, slipping it back into his uniform. He smiled absentmindedly at the sight of Raven sitting on a hardcore-looking throne. She's so fucking legendary. What did she ever see in me? He didn't fail to notice that in all her glory, her breathing was heavy as her chest rose and fell. She's tired. Of course she's tired. She just fought Superboy then pulled poison out of Bruce Wayne's body. The shapeshifter thought about turning into a dragon, but he didn't want to call her out, he wanted an intimate confrontation. He wanted to get her alone.
Raven was absolutely drained, so as soon as the Titans escaped she headed upstairs with her book, hoping to get some rest in her room. Her allies stayed downstairs to party, naturally – though Selina mostly planned to get drunk and attempt to forget about the fact that Batman was probably dead. When the empath stepped into a particularly secluded corridor on her way, she finally sensed him, and it was nearly too late to dodge his attack. She cursed internally when she realized the Changeling was looking rested and eager and this would be a very uneven match. They sparred with no powers for a while, because she didn't have a lot of power left and he wanted to make the whole thing last for as long as he could. The music downstairs was too loud for anyone to hear them. It was New Year's Eve, after all.
Raven noticed he was smiling smugly and grunted. He's not even shapeshifting. He's just messing with me. "You're very obnoxious, you know that?"
Garfield beamed at her. "Yep!"
It got a bit heated when Animals (Maroon 5) started playing loudly from the party in the entrance hall. They slammed each other on the walls, grabbed onto each other's legs, pinned each other to the floor and they fully enjoyed it. Raven took a little longer to get into it, being initially too annoyed to feel anything else, but then his body was pressing against hers and it felt kind of nice. And then they were basically battling for dominance and it reminded her of…well, sex. It was rather thrilling and the truth was she did miss him painfully. After a while, she couldn't tell her anger from her arousal anymore.
And then the Changeling managed to twist her arms behind her back and hold them both there securely with one hand. Not a human hand – a hand that belonged to something much bigger and stronger. It wrapped around both her arms easily so that her hands were now touching her opposite elbows. He smiled and pulled her closer. The sorcerer turned her head to see what he'd changed into and she frowned in surprise and confusion when she realized he was still human. She was absolutely sure that was not his human hand around her arms behind her back, but that was definitely his smug human grin staring back at her. Never mind that now. Let's get out of this situation, please.
"Azarath Metrion Z-Mmph!" Raven grunted in frustration against his other – and still human – hand when he covered her mouth. She closed her eyes to focus.
Doing magic without her mantra was absolutely possible and she did it all the time, but it was just slightly more challenging – especially when she was this tired. Well, you'll just have to manage because this is embarrassing. She tried to, she really did, but he was so close and his warmth was a little overwhelming – not to mention she could sense he was extremely turned on, and if she was being completely honest, so was she. What the fuck is wrong with me? Then suddenly her eyes widened because a long, green tail wrapped itself around the ancient book lying on the floor next to them. She was mostly intrigued at this point.
"I'll be taking that, thank you." The Changeling said happily, bringing the book to his side. "By the way, I made you something on Christmas. Here." He whispered in a much sweeter voice as his tail now slipped a sheet of paper between her armor and her belt.
The empath shivered at the sensation when it brushed against her stomach. And then her heart accelerated at his flirtatious tone.
Garfield was aware he was fully taking advantage of the fact she'd spent so much energy healing Batman earlier and he almost felt bad about it, but stopping her was still the best way to protect her at the moment, and flirting with her like this was just too tempting to resist. Besides, he could tell she was blushing because he felt her cheeks warm up in his hand. She's so fucking sexy. I wish I could kiss her. But I can't. I can never kiss her again. I can tease her a little, though. I think she likes that. Why didn't she free herself yet? Is she THAT drained?
He leaned closer to whisper playfully in her ear. "You once told me you can't think straight when I touch you, is that what's going on here?"
Well that made her heart skip a beat and gave her butterflies. Okay, that's quite enough of this. Raven gathered her strength and phased through him. She turned around and glared daggers at his blissful face at first, but then she saw his giant hand and tail again and stared quizzically at them with that intrigued frown on her face. He's changing isolated parts. I KNEW he could do that. "When did you learn that?"
The Changeling smiled proudly at her. Good, she's not mad at me. "The Red!"
The empath raised an eyebrow and folded her arms. "The what?"
Garfield was practically beaming. "It's the source of my powers. It's the force that connects all animal life form in the Multiverse! I've been accessing it freely and it's awesome."
She had to fight back a smile and tell her heart to stop fluttering. "I see."
The shapeshifter stared at his giant alien hand. "Yeah and I can like, only change my eyes so that I can see in the dark and stuff like that. I mean, it's not easy, but…" He glanced at her and nervously realized she looked stoic as ever. He still really wanted her to be impressed. "…it's kind of cool, isn't it?"
It's amazing. YOU'RE amazing. I'm SO fucking proud of you. She smirked. "Kind of. Good for you."
The Changeling shot her a toothy grin. "Well, I'd love to stay, really I would, but I need to take this book before you recharge or your friends come up here."
Raven rolled her eyes. She was still exhausted and would need hours of sleep. There was no way she was engaging against him again any time soon. "Yes, fine. Take it. You won." When his grin got all smug and greedy, she huffed. "Don't be such a creep about it."
"Sorry, I don't win that often. I need to relish in it!" He said breezily as he headed to a window.
The sorcerer smirked and folded her arms again. "I'll get you next time, you know?"
Garfield looked over his shoulder to smile cheekily at her from the window. "Oh, I'm counting on it. Happy New Year, Siren."
"Happy New Year, Titan."
And then he winked at her and turned into an eagle, flying away and carrying the book with him. Raven told her bruised heart to stop trying to heal without her permission and went downstairs to tell the others the Changeling had sneaked in and taken the artefact back.
"You're fucking kidding me." Poison Ivy snarled.
"I'm not. That dork can just tell when I'm tired." Raven said stoically.
Klarion felt insanely jealous, because he thought maybe she looked a little flustered.
"Why are you so tired?" Catwoman asked in a slurred speech, having her tenth drink.
"I saved Batman." Raven put a hand in the air as soon as the protests began. At least Selina was relieved. As in, extremely relieved. "I told you. I will do whatever the fuck I want."
"You know, I love you, but sometimes you suck!" Harley grumbled.
"How did you even do that?" Pamela narrowed her eyes.
Raven just raised an arrogant eyebrow.
"Leave her alone." Selina told them. "You had no right anyway. I did not agree to killing him."
"Ugh, fine." Poison Ivy rolled her eyes and turned to the empath again. "And the shapeshifter didn't try to take you?"
"No, there's no point. How would they control me after I recharge?" Raven shrugged. "He just took the book. I'll get it back when I can."
"What's that?" Harley suddenly pointed at a piece of paper showing out of the sorcerer's belt.
Raven looked down and frowned. Oh, right. I forgot about that. She had no idea what this so called Christmas present could possibly be, so she curiously unfolded it at once. Her eyes only widened for a second, but her heart was fluttering again and her cheeks turned pink because it was another drawing of her. Of this version of her. It was her in her Siren uniform, with scarlet-red irises, a smirk on her lips and a mischievous glint in her eyes. And it was as flattering and beautiful as any other sketch he'd ever made of her.
"What is it!?" Harley Quinn snatched the sheet of paper out of her hands and ran to Ivy's side, giggling wildly. Selina and Klarion quickly crowded around them.
The drawing became encased in dark energy before it was back in Raven's hand. She was fast, but they'd already glanced at it.
"Someone still has a crush on yooou." Harley chanted.
"And someone likes flirting with the enemy." Catwoman smiled knowingly. "Don't you?"
"He gave you that?" Klarion hissed. She's fucking blushing. I'll. Kill. Him.
Raven could sense the girls were just amused, but the warlock was fuming. She shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't see how it's any of your businesses."
Ivy folded her arms. "Did you at least put up a fight when he took the book?"
The empath gasped. "That's insulting. Of course I did." Well, I probably could have done a little better, but he would still win, so let's call it strategic energy saving.
"It is my business. You're my business." The Witch Boy said through gritted teeth.
Raven frowned and dismissed him with a hand wave. "No, it's not. You're not my boyfriend, Klarion. Don't annoy me or I'll kiss someone else at midnight."
The Sirens chuckled and he grumbled something under his breath, but left it alone, because he did really want to kiss her at midnight. The sorcerer went up to her room to admire her new gift and put it away with the sketch book then get a few hours of sleep before New Year.
Meanwhile in Titan Tower, there was an outburst of relief and loud cheers when the green eagle flew in with the magical book.
"Holy shit, man! We thought you were captured or worse!" Cyborg pulled Garfield into a hug and ruffled his hair as soon as he turned human again.
"How did you…" Nightwing asked in awe as he picked up the magical book from the floor.
He's impressed. Finally. The shapeshifter grinned widely. "I just hid and then I got Rae alone. She was drained from uh…you know…"
"Pulling venom out of my dying body?" Bruce Wayne asked pointedly.
"Yeah, that." Garfield chuckled and realized it all sounded a lot less impressive when he explained it like that, so he sheepishly cleared his throat. "Actually, it was kind of a low blow, but hey, I got the book back!"
Damian raised an eyebrow. "Is she mad at you?"
"Amazingly enough, not really!" The Changeling said cheerfully.
Superboy rolled his eyes. "See? I told you all she can do anything, except get over Beast Boy."
Starfire hugged him tightly and he changed into a gorilla in her arms so she wouldn't crush him. The Tamaranean giggled. "I am so glad you are okay, friend!"
Garfield turned human again and smiled easily. "Thanks, Kor. And I hope you're right, Conner. I'm not over her either."
"Oh, we know." Bumblebee chuckled casually from the kitchen counter.
"Yes, everyone knows that." Cyborg laughed and ruffled his friend's hair again. "There's not a single person that knows you who isn't aware of that."
Conner nodded. "Yeah, I never meant to insinuate that you were."
"Actually, could you change the depressive song I have to listen to passing by your room every day?" Damian smirked. "Just switch it up a bit."
"Yeah, actually, I'd appreciate that." Superboy agreed. "I have super-hearing, man. Seriously."
"This is good, BB." Nightwing gestured to the book in his hands, completely ignoring everyone else. "Good job. I'll send this to Jinx until Zatanna heals."
The Changeling was flushed at this point, but he still shot Dick a grateful, quick smile before turning to his friends again. "Ah, yes…well, yeah! I'll never be over her, so get used to it." He stated unapologetically before glancing at Batman. "Also, I'm letting you know right now, if there are any future endeavors from the Justice League that involve hurting her in any way, I'm going to protect her."
"Me too." Nightwing and Robin said in unison. Damian made a mental note to thank Raven for saving Bruce whenever he got a chance.
Starfire was just beaming at the Changeling's words.
Batman nodded. "Well, I owe her my life." When they all smiled at him, he turned to a very relieved Richard. "You can count on me."
It was all fun and games after that, because it was New Year's Eve. At midnight, Cyborg and Bumblebee kissed sweetly and Superboy pulled Starfire close – they ended up kissing, but she stopped it after a few short seconds because kissing him in front of everyone felt too much like a relationship. It was enough to shatter Richard's heart, though. Damian was sitting on the couch watching a drunken Rose dance around and Garfield was just about to approach him and tease him for it when the shapeshifter saw Richard pitifully staring at Kory.
"She doesn't love him, you know..." A drunken Beast Boy told Nightwing as he sat next to him.
An equally drunken Richard frowned. "Are you sure?"
"Well, I…" Garfield chuckled sadly. "No, I'm not an empath."
Dick chuckled along with him. "We really fucked up this year, huh?"
"Oh, yes. Terribly." The Changeling gestured around theatrically. "I mean, can you believe how lucky we were? And now look at us."
Nightwing's laughter got even sadder. "We deserve it."
"Yes, we do." Garfield nodded, laughing miserably too. "But maybe you can still fix your thing. I really don't think she loves him."
Dick huffed. "I don't know how to fix it. Kory isn't the forgiving type."
"You need to grovel." The Changeling said groggily. "Unless you're too proud, then you might as well give up. You gotta choose between love and pride."
"Very wise." Richard rolled his eyes. He wasn't sure they would go back to being friends like they used to in the morning, but at least for now he was enjoying this friendly, drunken and miserable conversation.
Garfield suddenly fell silent for several seconds and when he spoke again, it was just a whisper. "Rae chose love, you know? And she was like, born to be Pride. I wish I'd known how much that meant when it mattered."
Nightwing noticed the Changeling's eyes were watery. "Yeah, I know."
"I know you know. You warned me. You told me to deserve her and you said I needed to trust her and not hold on too tight. Did you really know I'd break her heart?"
Richard grimaced. "I worried about it. I thought you weren't ready. And she was just so stupidly in love with you."
Garfield bit his lip to fight back a sob and nodded slowly. "I see that now."
"You do?"
"Yeah. I miss her love so much. You were right, I wasn't ready for it, but it was so blissful. She loved me so wonderfully." I'll miss her love forever. That's my punishment.
"Maybe you can still get her back. If she wasn't mad at you today…she could still love you."
The Changeling chuckled sadly again. "Would you forgive someone who cut your legs off to keep you close?"
Nightwing looked at him in surprise, with wide eyes. It was the first time he thought the shapeshifter seemed to truly understand the gravity of what he did. "No."
"Yeah, exactly." Garfield shook his shoulders and cleared his throat. "But anyway, you could fix things. Maybe. If you get over your pride."
Richard poured them both another drink while he let the Changeling's words sink in. "You know what the saddest part is? I had been so confused with Babs here, but as soon as Star dumped me for good, there was no more confusion. It's Kory. It'll always be Kory." He sighed. "Why couldn't we just have all these important epiphanies before we lost them?"
"Tell me about it."
Wherever I Go (OneRepublic)