Krumelmonster: I love that you love it! XD Regarding your questions:
1) I'm still writing the third (and final) part of this story (I know everything that's gonna happen but I need to finish writing it, so I'll definitely take another hiatus after chapter 47) so I'm not exactly sure yet how many chapters it will consist of, but the entire story should end up about 65-70 chapters long (I told you guys it was long, lol).
2) I don't wanna say too much cause that's one of the plots in part III, but…hey I'm sure they'll figure something out. BB's not just giving up xD
Guest: Omg I LOVE that! hahaha glad to make your day a little better xD
This chapter and the next two all happen within a single – very busy – day, so I'll do my best to update fast. Happy reading! xD
Carry You Home
The Titans scattered around Jump City looking for Raven's rogue emoticlones. Richard, Damian, Rose and Raven herself stayed behind in case any of her parts decided to go back to the tower. As soon as the Titans East got there, the empath noticed weird feelings between Terra and Speedy. Speedy seemed in love, but Terra felt less intensely about him than before. And she could swear she sensed something between the blonde and Aqualad, which is why she was slightly concerned when Nightwing told the trio to join Superboy in his search, but she couldn't tell anyone why, so she kept it to herself. Mas and Menos joined Bumblebee and Cyborg while Jinx and Kid Flash joined Starfire and the Changeling.
"So how did this happen again?" The enchantress asked through an inappropriately wide smile. She was too excited about the whole thing.
"Raven's bitter warlock ex can't get over being dumped." Garfield muttered.
Kid Flash raised an eyebrow. "So he's…what? Trying to mess with her?"
"Actually, he meant to make her do the falling in love with him." Kory explained.
"Ohh." Jinx nodded, chuckling wickedly. "Those spells always go wrong."
"So we've heard." The shapeshifter said grumpily.
Wally frowned. "But if there's a bunch of Ravens on the loose, how haven't we heard anyth-"
He was interrupted by their communicators ringing. It was Bumblebee.
"Guys? There have been reports of Raven at the karaoke club. You're closer."
The Changeling exhaled in relief. He had been tense and dreading sudden bad news ever since they found out what Klarion's spell did. "Thanks, Bumble! We got it!"
It was Pink, of course. As soon as Garfield, Kory, Wally and Jinx entered the club, they heard her singing Titanium (David Guetta, Sia). She sounded good, but it was different from her usual singing – less breathy and ethereal. Instead, it was firm, loud and playful. One could practically hear the smile in her voice. They saw people's phones in the air filming her before they even saw her, but once they reached the stage, they understood what the fuss was about. Raven was in a pink cloak, smiling, giggling and having fun, charmingly singing her heart out, twirling on stage, moving her hips and acting cute. It was very out of character for usual Raven. Not to mention she was making the lights flicker and things float, though everyone seemed to think that was a cool vibe. But after the villainous phase, this made her seem like a total wild card.
"So which one is that!?" Kid Flash asked, watching incredulously.
"That would be Happiness." Garfield said with a tender smile on his face. His heart fluttered a little, remembering their first interaction. She thinks I'm funny.
Starfire flew to the stage to talk to her. Happiness instantly beamed and hugged her tightly, much to the alien's delight. Kory wouldn't pass on this opportunity and figured her presence would put people at ease, so she took a mic and sang the rest of the song with Pink.
"Oh, friend Raven! I've never seen you this happy before!" The Tamaranean said through a huge grin, pulling her by the hand and floating with her towards their friends.
"That's because you've never met this me before!" Happiness giggled while being pulled.
The Changeling felt nervous all of a sudden, because he had stood in the way of her happiness recently and this part of her could definitely resent him. But as soon as she saw him, her face lit up and a big, bright grin spread across her face.
"BEAST BOY!" Pink wrapped her arms around him in a firm and warm embrace.
Garfield gratefully hugged her back and smiled. "Hey, happy Rae. I'm so glad to see you."
"Hey, Wally! Hey, Jinx!" Pink giggled and grinned at them, never letting go of the shapeshifter.
Kid Flash and Jinx were absolutely entertained.
"Who knew Raven had so much happiness?" The speedster chuckled.
"Oh, I've had a hard time lately. I got smaller and weaker and I almost disappeared…" Pink sighed sadly, hugging Garfield tighter. "But…I'm finally getting my strength back!"
The shapeshifter's heart tightened when she said she'd had a hard time, because he knew exactly why. It was because of what he did. When she snapped and joined the Sirens, Happiness must have nearly suffocated. He held her tighter too and took comfort in her saying she was getting her strength back. "I'm so glad you're okay."
She finally pulled back to smile sweetly at him. "Of course I'm okay, silly!"
Starfire had been admiring their display of affection with a dreamy look on her face. "Happy Rae? We have to go back to the tower…"
Pink pouted. "So soon!? Can't we get ice cream first? Or go to the carnival? Or to the beach? Or go shopping?" She asked eagerly. "I hardly ever get to do what I want!"
Garfield and Kory exchanged extremely tempted looks.
"I don't see any harm in it." Jinx said mischievously.
"I think I need to be the voice of reason here." Wally West stepped in. "We really should get back." He gave Pink an apologetic look.
Happiness smiled softly when she realized Garfield and Kory both sighed in defeat, agreeing with the speedster's evaluation. "Okey dokey."
As soon as they got back, the Changeling collapsed on the couch and closed his eyes, feeling exhausted. Happiness had attempted to escape them and merrily jump around Jump City multiple times. At least now she was giggling about something with Starfire and playing with Krypto, Salem and Silkie in Kory's room.
"You." An angry voice hissed beside him.
Garfield opened his eyes and looked for the source of that guttural voice. A red-cloaked Raven with four demonic eyes on her face was fuming at him from the other end of the couch. Oh, fuck. He sat up straight and chuckled sheepishly. "Oh, er…hi. Wrath, right?"
Wrath pulled on her restraints slightly. She had handcuffs on and they were chained to the floor, so fortunately, she couldn't reach him. But the slow, calculated way she moved resembled a feline preying on him. It was terribly menacing.
"We found her furiously floating around looking for that creep. She was ready to kill." Terra said, looking at Red. "She already had those cuffs on, which helped a little, but she still put up a fight. We had to wear her down before we caught her."
"She keeps me like this most of the time." Wrath said in a low voice, without averting her gaze.
The Changeling felt cold just from the way she was looking at him.
"You are infuriating." She hissed at him again. "But she never lets me hurt you."
Red pulled on her chains once again and Garfield realized there was no actual danger and relaxed. "Right. I appreciate that."
Wrath brought her cuffed hands up in front of her face. "Appreciate these."
The Changeling couldn't help teasing her a little. She was still Raven. "Oh, I do. Immensely." He shot her a flirty smile. "You look very cute in those."
That seemed to drive Red insane. She pulled on her restraints so suddenly and harshly and glared at him with such fire in her four eyes that Garfield momentarily forgot about the chains and stumbled backwards on the couch until he fell on the floor.
"Ouch." The Changeling said, rubbing his butt while his friends laughed whole-heartedly.
Cyborg helped him up. "You kinda deserved that one, bro."
Garfield chuckled and shot Wrath an apologetic look, which she responded by huffing and looking away. She's kinda cute. "You killed Rouge and cursed Lex for me, didn't you?"
A hint of a wicked smile appeared on Red's lips. She had quite enjoyed that. "Maybe."
The shapeshifter beamed at her for a moment, then looked around and frowned, noticing the absence of Green. "Wait, where's Tenacity?"
Nightwing grimaced. "Ah…we had a little problem with that."
"They lost her." Connor smirked.
"You lost her!?" The Changeling squeaked. "Where's Rae? Like, the complete one?"
"She's preparing the spell…" Ravager sighed.
Then they heard Damian's voice from the corridor.
"Where were you anyway?" Robin asked someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I know I should have stayed here, but…I wanted waffles. I adore waffles. And then I stopped by the bookstore…I love books…" A female voice answered.
It sort of sounded like Raven, only much sweeter and sultrier.
"What is it? Why did you stop?" Damian asked with a clear hint of confusion.
"Oh…he's here!" The sweet voice exclaimed excitedly.
Then a violet-cloaked Raven ran into the ops room and jumped on Garfield without warning, straddling him and wrapping her arms around his neck. He stumbled backwards because of the sudden extra weight, but he managed to hold onto her hips and steady himself. This Raven had longer, darker lashes and weirdly enough, she was wearing lipstick. And they realized that pretty quickly, because she was swiftly kissing the Changeling everywhere but his lips, leaving multiple coral-lipstick kiss marks all over his flushed face while lightbulbs exploded above them. He certainly wasn't complaining.
"Violet, stop that." Raven's demanding voice ordered from the ops room entrance.
She reluctantly pulled away from him and got off his lap, turning around to pout at full Raven. "But…but I want to." She whined cutely. "I like him so much."
Garfield still had a dreamy smile plastered on his reddish lipstick-covered face as if it was frozen there as he received a literal pat on the back from Cyborg. "I like you too…"
The empath rubbed her temples, feeling absolutely mortified. I'll never recover from this.
"And who might you be?" Aqualad said, approaching Violet with interested eyes.
Connor looked her up and down from where he was leaning against the wall and smirked. Sure, he had given up, but this was a little too intriguing to ignore. "I'm thinking Lust?"
Violet put her hands behind her back and smiled charmingly. "Actually, Passion would be more accurate. Or Affection."
Both Superboy and Aqualad took a few steps towards her with eager eyes, but Garfield suddenly jumped in front of her, with arms spread wide and a nervous grin on his face. So he wasn't as possessive or jealous as he used to be, but if anyone ever thought he would willingly let one of these two touch her Passion, they were insane.
"Sooooo I'm sure you two have something important to do like maybe go look for Tenacity or something." He said, feeling Violet's arms wrapping around him from behind already.
Raven frowned. "Wait, what? You lost Green?"
Nightwing cleared his throat. "Thank you, BB." He glared slightly at the Changeling, who just chuckled apologetically with Affection's arms and legs wrapped around him. Richard frowned and turned to Raven. "I swear we only looked away for a second when the trouble alarm went off and she disappeared. We'll go get her back. It was Mambo; she's probably fighting him."
The sorcerer nodded. "Definitely."
And so Dick, Damian and Rose left the tower to go recover Green.
"I think we should split to watch the Ravens we already have so we don't lose any of them." Bumblebee suggested.
Garfield merrily raised his hand in the air. "I'll watch Passion!" At this point, she had traced up his jawline with kisses and was whispering sweet compliments in his ear and he'd absentmindedly wrapped an arm around her waist.
"No, you won't." Raven said pointedly. "Actually, get away from her." She involved Violet in dark energy and floated her to her side. "I'll watch Affection." I don't trust her one bit.
The Changeling folded his arms and pouted playfully. "Buzzkill…"
The empath rolled her eyes at him. "Also, go wash your face. You look ridiculous."
"Actually I think he looks cut-Mmphf!" Violet's sweet words were interrupted by Raven's hand over her mouth while she dragged her away to her room.
Terra and Bumblebee chuckled lightly and went to Wrath's side on the couch so they could watch her. They seemed to anger her less than the boys. Superboy went to Jinx's side as soon as Kid Flash went looking for a bathroom. He had decided to shift his focus to Terra and Jinx. He'd gotten with Starfire, Raven clearly didn't want him, Ravager was more like a little sister and even if Bumblebee wanted him he didn't think she would cheat, but he thought Terra or Jinx might. Maybe. Besides, he was closer to Cyborg than he was to Kid Flash and Speedy now, so if he had to break the Bro Code…
Garfield sighed heavily. "Fiiine." Then he thought of something and beamed again. "Oh then I'll go help Starfire watch Happi-" He stopped when he spun on his heels and saw a Raven he hadn't seen before. The shapeshifter frowned at the black-cloaked figure on the floor.
This one had her hood pulled over her head, so they couldn't see her face. Her cloak was dark and she was hugging her legs against her chest and trembling slightly, staring at the floor.
"Oh, we don't know who that is…she won't talk to us." Cyborg frowned sadly. "We found her exactly like that on the roof, actually. But she wouldn't let us near her. She kept teleporting. In the end, Bumble just talked to her and told her to come down to the ops room and no one would touch her and she did. We think maybe it's Fear."
Terra narrowed her eyes. "I don't think Raven fears that much…"
Garfield slowly approached Black and she flinched. "Hey…it's okay…" He whispered soothingly as he crouched down to move closer to her. "I'm not gonna hurt you…"
She seemed to hesitate. She still looked scared and was pitifully trying to shrink in on herself, but she allowed him to approach until he was kneeled by her side.
"…can I see you, Rae? Please?" Garfield asked her softly. He hated seeing her like this. He hated seeing any part of her like this. And he hadn't even noticed she was there until now.
She didn't look up or move, but after a few seconds, she gave him a quick nod. The Changeling reached out slowly and pulled her hood down. Everyone gasped, grimaced or winced and his eyes instantly filled with tears. It was Raven, but barely. It reminded him of when he rescued her from Slade's bunker. She looked tired, for starters. There were dark circles under her eyes and she was paler and thinner than the others. And she was wounded. Her face was covered in dark scars and bruises. She shrank further under their gaze, never looking up.
Garfield's heart sank and he felt sick, because somehow he just knew who that was. And then he knew she didn't need to be looking like this. She could be doing so much better. If it wasn't for me. "You…you're Pain, aren't you?"
Black finally looked up at him, though her head remained tilted down, and they didn't need verbal confirmation. Pain was all over her violet, teary eyes.
"Oh, shit…" Cyborg whispered sadly.
"Pain, can I…can I touch you?" Garfield asked her, struggling not to cry. He knew this was the one he wanted to stay with. She needed him the most. He wanted to comfort her, but he wasn't sure she would want him to. He had caused Raven so much pain, maybe this one resented him profoundly and staying with her would only make her feel worse.
The shapeshifter saw a glint of surprise flash through her sad eyes. He held his breath until she gave him another quick, small nod. And then he carefully wrapped his arms around her and she leaned on him, resting her head on his shoulder. Pain didn't cry, but she was shaking slightly, so he rubbed her arms and back soothingly until she relaxed a little.
The Changeling looked up at the others. "I got her." He smiled sadly. "You guys can go help Kor with Pink or help the others look for Green."
Superboy leaned closer to Jinx and whispered. "You know, we could say we're going to help them and get lost on the way."
The enchantress smirked at him. "What are you suggesting?"
Connor shot her a flirtatious, charming smile. "A little mischief. I'm sure you're familiar with the concept."
Jinx playfully narrowed her eyes. "Well, aren't you bold?"
"Hey, honey." Wally said, interrupting their conversation and placing a protective arm around her shoulders while glaring at Superboy. He'd seen the way they were looking at each other and he didn't like it one bit. In fact, it made him a little paranoid.
Meanwhile, Nightwing, Ravager and Robin were fiercely battling Mambo alongside a green-cloaked Raven. Mambo wasn't sure why she hadn't taken him down yet. He was very aware of how much more power she had now compared to when he trapped her inside his hat all those years ago, but for some reason, the fight almost seemed balanced. He knew something was up. She looked and sounded slightly different and her cloak was green. Whatever it was, he was grateful for it. But once the others got there to back her up, the magician started struggling.
"Ugh!" Damian grunted as he landed on his back after being thrown far away from the battlefield by a blast of mystical energy. He quickly got on his feet and ignored the sharp pain irradiating through his entire body, getting ready to rejoin the fight.
"Hello, dear grandson." Ra's al Ghul's low voice sounded from the shadows.
Damian turned around at once and frowned. "Where are you!?"
Ra's stepped out of the shadows, smiling evilly. "Don't worry; I'm not here to fight you."
Robin pulled out his sword and got in a battle stance. "Maybe I am."
"See, this is the problem with you hot-blooded teenagers. You don't listen. It makes you unwise."
"Oh, I'm listening." Damian hissed. "Did you assist Klarion in this?"
Ra's sighed. "That boy's skills have proven to be…disappointing. But he did make promises."
Robin smirked. "If he promised to get rid of her for you, forget it. It's not happening."
"I'm more interested in bringing her to our side if that helps persuade you."
Damian frowned. "Neither of us will join you. None of us will. Leave us alone."
"I'm afraid I can't do that. Once your healing witch is handled, when I strike one of your friends again, they will bleed to death in front of your eyes. And it will be your fault, Damian. Then you will know I meant it." The villain said menacingly. "Maybe I don't even need to wait that long. Maybe I'll just cut Nightwing's head off next time. I'm sure not even your witch can fix that." He could tell Damian was tensing up now, so his smile widened. "Or maybe I'll do it to that white-haired girl that distracted you last time. You seem to care about her."
Robin saw red and charged at him. "Shut up!"
Ra's swiftly and elegantly blocked his attacks with an easy mind and rested body. "Don't be dumb, boy. I only came to give you one more chance. They'll drop like flies. You can save them. Think about it." He dropped Damian to the floor with a swift move of his feet. "But don't take too long. You're running out of time."
And just like that, the League's leader disappeared into the shadows again.
"Fuck this shit." Damian muttered under his breath, standing up and wiping his uniform before running back to the fight to help the others.
Back in Titan Tower, Bumblebee and Cyborg had joined Starfire and the pets in entertaining Happiness while Terra and Kid Flash were seated on each side of Wrath on the couch as she smiled wickedly watching a show about shark attacks, so Speedy and Jinx had joined Mas and Menos in playing with Garfield's pinball machine for a while. Superboy and Aqualad were on the couch too, sitting on the opposite end from Wally, Red and Terra.
Raven sighed, walking into the ops room. "Well, Violet is trapped. She's not going anywhere."
"I think we should call her Affection. She's sweet." Terra turned her head to smile at the empath. Wrath scowled mockingly beside her as regular Raven rolled her eyes, which made the blonde giggle before turning her attention back to the TV.
Then the sorcerer saw something that almost made her lose control of her powers. Garfield was on the floor with Pain in his arms while she trembled softly and sobbed quietly into his shoulder. He was whispering to her and kissing the top of her head and Raven could tell her breathing was much smoother than when they found her. He could be taking care of Pink or looking for Green or even teasing Red, but no. He was comforting her pain. The least fun job of all. And the most important.
"You would know about sweetness." Aqualad smiled charmingly at Terra.
The blonde returned his smile and blushed. "I'm sure I have no idea what you mean."
That distracted Raven, because she picked up on desire from both of them. This time she was sure. Garfield didn't notice the flirting, though. He was focused on Pain.
Connor cleared his throat and moved closer to Terra on the couch. "You know, I have been meaning to ask you…" He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. And then he smiled because her reaction couldn't be more different from Raven's. She smiled, her cheeks turned even pinker and there was a mischievous glint in her eyes. "What were you like as a villain? I'm kinda sorry I missed that."
The blond Titan sustained her smile. This was a delicate subject, but the way he was asking about it was clearly judgement-free. And his hair was perfect and his eyes were piercing and blue and his smile was flawless. "Don't be. I was terrible."
"I don't believe that for a second." Connor smirked. "I'd believe in sexy, but terrible?"
Raven frowned. They're openly flirting at this point. She could sense desire in both of them as well. And now Aqualad looked grumpy, with folded arms and looking away. Maybe she's done with Speedy and forgot to let him know. She also sensed, with some concern, that Wally was strangely relieved and grateful for Connor and Terra's flirting. Well this is messy.
The blonde narrowed her eyes at Connor. "Oh, really?"
"Really."
"Rae?" Terra said breezily, turning to the empath. "Tell him what I was like."
Raven folded her arms. Is she serious? "Oh, she was an absolute delight betraying everyone."
Red growled dangerously as glasses exploded in the kitchen. "Fucking bitch."
Terra turned around wide-eyed, but Wrath wasn't looking at her. She was fuming, though.
"She doesn't mean you. She means that you." Raven calmly told the blonde.
"Oh." Terra chuckled apologetically. "Right. Makes sense."
"That bad, huh?" Superboy raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, she was trouble. She beat me once." Raven said blankly. She could tell Terra regretted bragging about it now, which is exactly why she kept talking.
"Really?" Connor asked, genuinely impressed. "How?"
"By being a bitch." Wrath spat out bitterly.
Terra shrank guiltily and Connor, Aqualad and Raven chuckled fondly. Even Wally smiled at her reaction.
"It was impressive, really." The empath admitted.
Terra glanced at Wrath. "I'm glad you don't resent me."
She just shrugged and grunted under her breath in response.
Raven smiled slightly. "She knows Slade was whispering in your ear." She pointed at the way Wrath growled angrily at his name and more glasses exploded. "See? Him she hates."
Aqualad seemed to have recovered and was smiling at both Terra and Raven now. "Well I wish I could have seen-"
"Hi people! I am back!" Green announced, stepping out of the elevator. "Mambo went down!"
Raven exhaled in relief. Good. They're all here. Then she frowned at the other people stepping out of the elevator. Nightwing and Ravager were a little tired, but Robin was in anguish. She held onto Dick's arm and whispered when he passed by her. "Dick…Damian."
Richard nodded at her. "I know. I'll talk to him."
She smiled softly and let go of his arm, turning around and clearing her throat. "Okay, as entertaining or amusing as this may have been for everyone but me…I'd like it to be over, please. Rose, can you tell the others to take Happiness to my room?" When Ravager nodded and left, she turned to Green. "You can just go by yourself, yes?"
"You got it." Tenacity smirked, heading towards her room.
The empath walked up to Wrath and broke her restraints, gently pulling her to her feet and hugging her. "I'm sorry, Red. But please come with me."
Wrath relaxed her muscles and complied. She liked it when Raven embraced her. Usually it happened in a more abstract way, but this was nice too.
"And…" The sorcerer turned to the Changeling. "Gar…could you bring Black?"
He nodded from where he'd been gently stroking the black-cloaked Raven's hair. Then he whispered to her. "Do you want to walk, float, teleport or be carried?"
Pain just wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He could see scratch marks on her bare arms, since unlike the others, she didn't wear Raven's armored uniform under her cloak, but a sleeveless leotard. The shapeshifter inhaled and swallowed his tears, carefully picking her up. Once they were all in her room, Raven dismissed him and everyone else so she could fix the damage Klarion's spell had done.
"So…now that our mission is accomplished…" Aqualad smiled, shooting Terra a discreet, but flirtatious look. "…how about another karaoke night tonight?"
The general reaction to that was one of instant approval. Nightwing actually thought that it wasn't a good idea to relax when Klarion and the League of Assassins were still out to get them, but he decided not to argue and let everyone have a night off. He had more important business to attend to. So he approached his silent little brother by the window.
"Hey, you. Come talk to me." Richard said kindly.
Damian frowned. "Is that a request or an order?"
"C'mon, you know the answer to that."
"Then no, thank you."
Nightwing sighed. "Fine. Then let's spar."
That I can do. Damian nodded quietly and followed his brother to the training room.
Kid Flash looked around and frowned in concern. "Where are Connor and Jinx?"
Everyone just shrugged to let him know they had no idea, which definitely left him on edge. The Changeling noticed.
"Hey, man." The shapeshifter sat next to Wally. "Listen, don't freak out."
Wally West was already freaking out. He shot the green Titan an incredulous look. "If Connor and Raven were missing, what would you do?"
Garfield took an intake of breath. "Well, for starters, I'm not Raven's boyfriend…"
"Right, I know." Kid Flash nodded. "But…what would you want to do?"
The Changeling pondered. "I mean, actually, that has happened recently."
"It has?"
"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, I was worried." He chuckled. "But...she rejected him."
Wally West nodded again. "So that's why he's back to hitting on Jinx and Terra."
"Probably. But the point is…I just trusted her. And everything was fine."
Kid Flash sighed heavily. "Yeah…must be nice."
Garfield frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean…it must be nice. Don't get me wrong, I know you've come a long way. But still, Raven is easy to trust. Jinx isn't Raven."
The Changeling's frown deepened. "Wally, if that's what you think of her…"
"I love her, BB." Kid Flash said surely. "I do. I just…"
Garfield raised an eyebrow. "You just don't trust her?"
"Well…yes. I mean, I want to trust her. But all I can think about right now is that if they come back together my whole world is gonna crash. So…distract me."
The shapeshifter chuckled slightly. "Distract you how?"
"I don't know." Wally shrugged. "Tell me why you're not Raven's boyfriend. She clearly still likes you, with Miss Violet being all over you like that."
Garfield sheepishly ruffled his own hair. "Yeah, that was fun. But…she doesn't want to be my girlfriend."
Kid Flash raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Really?"
The Changeling nodded. "Yeah but honestly, I'd be grateful just for breathing the same air as her. She's been giving me way more than I expected already. I can't ask for more."
The speedster smiled at him. "Maybe not everything needs to be labeled. I mean, if you both feel safe in it, who cares?"
Garfield smiled absentmindedly. I do feel safe with her. "Exactly."
"I don't…I can't help obsessing over where they are and whether they're together or not and what they're doing. Maybe I should just go find her…" Kid Flash stood up.
The Changeling pulled him back to his seat. "Don't. It will make you look insane. Trust me."
Meanwhile, Robin and Nightwing were sparring to exhaustion in the training room. Robin felt his side burn and ache, but he swallowed his pain and didn't say anything until Richard dropped him in a particularly painful way and he winced.
"Damian, are you hurt!?" Dick's eyes widened and he offered his brother a hand.
"I'm fine." Robin answered dryly, holding onto his side and standing up without taking Richard's hand. He was sweating from both the exercise and the effort of resisting pain.
Nightwing frowned, watching his brother grumpily take a seat. "What's wrong with you lately? Is it your grandfather? You've kind of been in a dark place."
Damian stared at him incredulously. "Well, I'm sorry." He spat out sarcastically. "What am I supposed to feel like? Ra's keeps his promises, you know? He will kill everyone. He nearly killed you already. And Raven nearly couldn't fix you because they managed to keep her busy. If Garfield hadn't…" He frowned and held onto the bench tighter until his knuckles turned white.
Nightwing sighed and went to sit down next to him. "I know." He said quietly.
"Maybe I should just go back to them." Damian whispered. When he saw Richard's indignant face get ready to protest, he spoke again in a firmer voice. "Listen, what if someone dies because of him? And I'll know I could have stopped it. How do I live with that? Maybe it's easier to just let him win. I mean, what if they kill you, or Raven, or Starfire, or…" Or Rose.
"I'm going to stop you right there." Nightwing said in his usual confident tone. "We are not letting you do this. Damian, listen to me. What happened to me was not your fault. It was Ra's fault. All of this is his fault. You're not sacrificing yourself; this isn't how we fix this. We'll just figure this out like we do everything else."
Robin frowned and looked away. There's no point arguing with him. He's just too delusional and optimistic. "Fine."
Richard grimaced because he could tell his brother wasn't fully convinced. He's just shutting down again. "Damian…"
"Actually, I am hurt." Robin suddenly said, deciding to finish the pep talk since nothing would make him feel better until his grandfather wasn't threatening everyone he cares about. "Maybe we should go see if Raven is done so she can heal me."
Nightwing sighed. "Yeah, okay."
They went back to the ops room and only waited a few seconds before she showed up with a much more peaceful expression on her face now that her mirror was fixed with no further consequences – other than a few online theories about her uncharacteristic appearances around town. And then Richard asked her to help the grumpy, spiky-haired boy next to him.
Raven put a hand on the right side of Damian's torso and frowned. "This is bad. Why didn't you say anything before?"
"I hadn't noticed." Robin shrugged. "Adrenaline, I guess. It must have numbed the pain."
He knows I know that's a lie, right? The empath raised an eyebrow at the boy, but decided not to press. She began healing him with soothing white energy.
Damian closed his eyes. Garfield was right about one thing, the healing was nice. It felt like being embraced, warm and safe, at least for a few minutes. "Thanks."
She was still healing him on the couch when Jinx and Superboy walked into the ops room together, flushed, with slightly disheveled hair and guilty looks on their faces. Kid Flash's heart immediately sank and his head went into a spiral of painful paranoia as he was absolutely certain he had been cheated on.
Garfield looked at him with concerned eyes. "Wally…"
"I…" The speedster stood up hastily, clearly fighting back tears. "I need to get out of here."
He was gone in a heartbeat – as in literally in a heartbeat – and Jinx frowned in confusion and worry as her boyfriend suddenly left in complete distress. Raven didn't notice because she was too busy repairing Damian's insides to allow herself to be distracted by people's feelings, so she actively tried blocking them out.
"Friend Raven, we have decided to have another of the fun karaoke night tonight!" Starfire beamed at her best friend as soon as she was done healing Robin.
The empath furrowed her brows. "Really?" She had picked up on a lot of feelings from her friends that could lead to potential heartache and karaoke nights seemed to have a tendency to unleash drama. On the other hand, they had just spent their day helping her deal with her toxic ex's screwup. Raven's expression softened and she sighed. "Okay, I'll be there. But I'm not singing." She said adamantly. "There's been more…expressing…" She shivered slightly at the word. "...than I'm comfortable with for one day already."
They chuckled light-heartedly at that and she rolled her eyes.
"Hey, you. Are you okay?" Garfield asked quietly, sitting next to her as everyone else went back to their own business.
Raven nodded. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you."
"Like, right now?"
She shrugged. "Whenever is good for you."
Garfield nodded quickly. "Right now is good."
The empath chuckled softly. So freaking cute. "Meet me on the roof in ten."
Precisely ten minutes later, the Changeling found her seated on the edge and joined her. The sun was nearly setting and he admired the way the soft glow reflected on her hair and skin.
"Thank you for taking care of Pain." Raven said quietly, still staring at the horizon.
Garfield's eyes widened in surprise. He thought she wanted to scold him for getting friendly with Affection or teasing Wrath. Then he remembered Pain and his eyes filled with tears. "I…I couldn't really help…I wish I could heal her…"
She turned to look at him. "Then she would disappear and I wouldn't be me anymore. My pain is part of me, Gar."
He stared at her wordlessly for a few seconds, with a pained frown on his face. "Right, I know that…but…I just wish she didn't hurt that much. I wish I could make it a little better."
Raven smiled slightly. "You did."
The shapeshifter's frown softened. "I did?"
"Yes. And I know she's not the most fun to be around, so…I just wanted to say I appreciate it."
The Changeling smiled at her. "Well I told you, I love all of you."
Raven elbowed him playfully. "Corny…but cute."
Garfield's smile widened. "That's me!"
"Yes, it is. So, any chance we can maybe never mention this incident again?"
The shapeshifter chuckled. "I don't think anyone else will agree to that. Besides, it really wasn't that bad."
She scoffed. "It was. It was embarrassing."
"I don't think so. I think it was adorable."
Raven rolled her eyes and folded her arms stoically. "I'm not supposed to be adorable. I'm supposed to be terrifying."
He chuckled again. "You can be both, you know? In fact, you are."
She narrowed her eyes. "You just love that everyone saw Passion being into you."
The Changeling blushed at the memory and scratched his head. "I mean, that was really nice."
"For you, maybe." Raven rolled her eyes in annoyance. "You're practically beaming, it's infuriating."
Garfield smiled fondly at her. "Okay but it's not just Passion getting lipstick all over my face. You know what I really loved?"
The sorcerer raised a suspicious eyebrow at him. "Do tell."
"I just love the fact that they all reacted strongly towards me." The Changeling said with a toothy, stupidly enormous grin on his face.
Raven relaxed. "Oh. You noticed that, huh?"
He leaned closer to her. "I definitely noticed."
She playfully glared at him. "Are you getting cocky now?"
"Not even a little bit. I just can't believe I'm this lucky." Garfield whispered truthfully.
That caught her off guard and she locked eyes with him and allowed her hand to find its' way to his hand, intertwining their fingers.
"Can I kiss you?" Garfield whispered again, looking into her eyes.
Raven smiled slightly, closed her eyes and leaned in. The shapeshifter quickly pressed their lips together in a long and passionate kiss. They kissed slowly and peacefully like that for a few seconds and then she pulled back and giggled at the dreamy expression on his face.
Garfield watched her strutting away. Nope. Not yet. He stood up and grew a tail, which he then wrapped around her body, pulling her closer and making her yelp in the cutest possible way. The shapeshifter smiled greedily. "Come back here, I'm not done with you yet."
Raven's heart skipped a beat and she felt her cheeks warm up, but she managed to keep her face stoic – except for the hint of amusement in her eyes.
At first, when he saw her raise an eyebrow at him with her arms still pinned to her sides by his tail, he wasn't sure if she was angry or into it. Shit, was that too far? No, wait. She's smiling a little. And she didn't free herself. And she's blushing. He exhaled and chuckled apologetically. "Sorry. Is it still okay to get a little possessive when we're playing around?"
Her smile became much more obvious and flirtatious. "Do you hear me complaining?"
Garfield beamed and pulled her even closer, retrieving his tail and wrapping his arms around her waist instead. "Do you wanna hear something a little crazy?"
"Always." Raven ran her hands up his arms, feeling his defined, lean muscles, and then rested her elbows over his shoulders.
"A part of me kind of gets Klarion. I mean, don't get me wrong, I hate that guy and I think there's a very real chance I might accidentally kill him, but…" He smiled lovingly, staring into her suspicious eyes. "…losing you would drive anyone insane."
The empath rolled her eyes and huffed quietly. "You didn't go insane."
"I kinda did." Garfield chuckled slightly. "I didn't shower for a week, I yelled at you in front of Superman, I used drugs and sex to feel numb and sometimes that didn't even work. Remember when you saved me from Gizmo? Yeah I was drunk. Dick had actually grounded me. I wasn't even supposed to be there because I was such a wreck. I didn't get it together until after we teamed-up to fight Braniac."
Raven brought one hand to his cheek. "What drugs?"
The Changeling had decided on telling her about it for a while now. "I tried nearly everything." He realized she looked sad and frowned. "No, wait. I'm not telling you to make you feel bad."
"I know, Gar." She whispered, smiling softly at him. "I just didn't know it was that bad. But still, you never tossed me around the Multiverse or held people at gunpoint to perform a love spell."
Garfield chuckled openly. "Okay, but that's because I'm not a psycho. I'm not making excuses for him; I'm just saying…it's difficult to lose you."
Raven's smile grew a little at first, but then turned into a frown as she bit her lip. This whole cute bit of his reminded her of something. "I regret it, you know? Comparing you to him."
The Changeling stared at her with serious, wide eyes. So did you. At least he had the decency of not making me fall for him first. Of course he remembered her words. He would never forget them. "But…you were right."
She sighed. "But I don't think it was fair. Other than that mistake, you two will never have anything in common. I meant it, but I regret saying it. I know it hurt you. I'm sorry."
Garfield's eyes welled up and he brought his hands to cradle her face gently, leaning in to give her a soft kiss. She deepened the kiss and he inhaled, rubbing her cheeks with his thumbs while her fingers massaged his scalp. The sun was setting and the orange glow made it feel downright romantic.
"Forgive me?" Raven whispered against his lips.
"Of course, but there's nothing to forgive, my love." The shapeshifter whispered back, hugging her waist again and burying his face in the crook of her neck. "I needed to hear it, trust me. And I wish you'd stop apologizing to me like I told you to."
She chuckled softly and continued caressing his hair. "Not going to happen. And that tickles."
Garfield lifted his head to smile tenderly at her.
"Excuse me?" Starfire cleared her throat, hovering next to them.
The two Titans separated quickly and the Changeling attempted to fix his hair while Raven smoothed her cloak.
Kory giggled. "I just wanted to let you know we will be leaving to do the karaokeing soon!"
"Okay, Kor. Thanks." The empath nodded.
When Starfire left, Garfield frowned. "How did she know where we were?"
"Connor probably told her."
The Changeling's eyes widened with realization. "Right. I keep forgetting that he hears everything. You don't mind?"
Well, he knows I love you so I don't think this would surprise him. She shrugged. "Not really. It's a little invasive, but…I guess so are my empathic abilities."
"Wait, is that why he goes out so much? I mean, listening to certain conversations must make him uncomfortable. Especially at night…"
"Probably. Between us, Kor and Dick and Cy and Bumble…" Raven chuckled softly.
He exhaled. "Damn. No wonders he sleeps in sometimes."
On Garfield's way to the ops room to meet the others for karaoke night, Superboy stopped him and offered him a fist-bump. He narrowed his eyes and cautiously returned it.
"What's this for?" The Changeling asked the other boy.
Connor smirked. "That is why I go out at night so much, by the way. There are certain conversations only creeps would want to hear. But…roof make-out sessions? Nice."
When they got to the club, Raven thought this was a bad idea. Damian was tense and Rose was clueless and Kid Flash was destroyed and Jinx was upset and Speedy was suspicious and Terra was confused and Aqualad was lonely and she was overwhelmed by the weight of it all and afraid of what this particular karaoke night could trigger. At least she didn't think she would be in the center of the drama this time. She was in a good place with Gar.
"Okay, who's starting?" Speedy asked, bringing everyone a first round of drinks.
Garfield happily raised his hand. "I wanna sing!" He had been meaning to go back to serenading Raven to Stutter, but he thought maybe she didn't want him to be that obvious about the fact they were sort of kind of a thing in front of everyone, so he figured he could find a new song tonight. One that not everyone knew was theirs yet.
Raven didn't look up from her french-fries, but her lips curved up in a small, discreet smile.
"Me and Bumble are second!" Victor raised his hand, smiling at his girlfriend.
Garfield downed his drink and stood up to go look through the song catalog, but he never got to, because there was a blast at the club and a dark and huge cloud of purple fog on stage. It dissipated quickly to reveal Klarion with his cauldron and a force-field around him. The shapeshifter felt his anger rising in his chest and practically growled. The other Titans cursed loudly, standing up at once. Connor, Wally, Mas and Menos immediately ran to stop him, but they harshly crashed against his force-field.
The warlock held her cloak up in the air with his signature wicked grin. "Okay, this time it will work! I figured it out!"
Raven's eyes widened and she immediately started working on finding a weak spot on the force-field. She realized his spell looked right this time and could actually work. So much for not being in the center of the drama.
"Maaan, not this guy again!" Cyborg said, trying to weaken the warlock's protection as well.
Garfield was refraining from turning into a T-Rex or a dragon by accident. He thought about something that could break through that force-field, but then he saw Raven was still working on that. Whatever she couldn't do, the demonic beasts he turned into certainly couldn't either. Starfire was shooting already, and so were Bumblebee and Cyborg, and none of it was working. Then he realized Klarion was about to drop her cloak inside the cauldron and finish his second attempt at this spell and he had an idea.
"JINX!" Garfield shouted at her, desperately pointing at the spot where Raven's magic was weakening the Witch Boy's protection.
The enchantress immediately understood him and smiled, floating up and shooting a powerful and sure blast at that exact spot. The force-field cracked, but he had already dropped her cloak, so Jinx swiftly shot a second blast. It hit the cauldron at the same time Raven's cape fell in and once again, there was a huge explosion, followed by fog. Her misfortune magic had clearly mixed with his spell, messing it up. Klarion grunted loudly in frustration and disappeared again, right before Kid Flash and Superboy got to him, so now it was their turn to be frustrated. Everyone but the Titans had already fled the club screaming at this point. But the heroes waited expectantly.
"I'm okay." The empath whispered, shooting Jinx a grateful look. "Thanks."
The enchantress waved a hand to dismiss her, grinning widely. "I'm sure you'll find some way to repay me."
"So…it didn't work, right? I mean, Rae's not in love with him, right?" Terra asked cautiously.
"Yeah but last time it cracked her mirror and unleashed a bunch of emotional Ravens everywhere." Cyborg said worriedly.
Bumblebee turned to Jinx. "Is something going to happen this time?"
The enchantress just shrugged. "I have no idea. Does anyone feel any different?"
No one did.
Raven frowned. "Maybe we should just-"
"I found myself dreaming…" Karen suddenly started singing, staring at Victor.
Everyone watched her in utter disbelief and confusion as she continued lovingly singing the first few verses of Like I'm Gonna Lose You (Meghan Trainor, John Legend) to her boyfriend. Cyborg was confused too, but he couldn't help but smile at her anyway.
"Bumble? What are you doing?" Nightwing frowned.
She didn't seem to listen; she just continued performing the romantic song.
Raven looked around. "Where's the music coming from?"
They realized she was right. There was music playing in the background and it came out of nowhere. Karen stood up slowly and Terra and Starfire started moving towards her.
"Babe…?" Richard asked after his girlfriend. Again, she didn't seem to listen to him.
"What is happening…?" Garfield whispered to Raven, but she was just as confused.
Jinx folded her arms in annoyance. "C'mon, guys. Cut it out."
When she got to the chorus, Terra and Kory were standing on each side of her and singing like backup singers while they did a sweet little choreography. At this point, the curious people who had hung around outside the club – which was nearly everyone that had been there – heard the music and reentered. They smiled and clapped along and pulled out their phones to register the moment, thinking the whole thing was obviously some cute bit by the heroes or maybe some kind of elaborate marriage proposal.
"Honestly, what the fuck…" Ravager disapprovingly shook her head to the scene.
While they were all staring at the girls in confusion, they didn't notice Cyborg going into trance and standing up.
"In the blink of an eye…" The half-robot started singing the male-voice verses.
Everyone's heads shot to him. He continued singing while walking towards Bumblebee and then they held hands to sing the chorus together, staring into each other's eyes. Terra and Kory were still singing backup and dancing around them like it was some scene from a cheesy musical. Garfield, Mas and Menos were getting into it and clapping along like the rest of the people at the club. Apart from the obvious cuteness of it all, they all sounded really good. As in, way better than they usually did on regular karaoke nights.
"I don't like this at all." Damian said grumpily and a little worriedly.
"Yeah, this is stupid." Rose agreed.
"Seriously, where is this music coming from?" Raven floated around trying to find a source behind things and under tables, but she found nothing.
When they got to the bridge of the song Cyborg twirled her around and danced with her before lifting her by the waist and twirling her in the air at the beginning of the last chorus. People cheered and whistled, but they still didn't seem to notice anyone else. They sang the rest of the song staring deeply into each other's eyes again and then wrapped it up by kissing at the end. The club burst with applause and cheers.
Terra was the first to be pulled out of her trance and she rubbed her head in confusion. She could remember everything, but it was like a really vivid dream. She had been there and aware of it, but she couldn't snap out of it. Starfire recovered her senses next. And then Cyborg and Bumblebee frowned into the kiss and pulled away, staring at each other wide-eyed.
"What…" Karen started.
"I don't know." Victor said.
They both chuckled and waved awkwardly to the small crowd around them and waited for people to disperse so they could freak out.
"Dude, what the fuck just happened!?" Cyborg squeaked.
"You tell us." Connor said quizzically. "You're the ones who started singing like you were in a musical or something. Weirdos."
Bumblebee sat down. "No, I remember, but…I couldn't stop it. It was like I wasn't in control."
"That is how I felt too." Starfire nodded.
Nightwing sighed heavily and rubbed his temples. "Guys?" When they all stared at him with expectant eyes, he continued. "I think we know what Klarion's spell did this time. When Jinx shot at it, it probably merged with the musical energy of this place."
That got mixed reactions. Starfire and the Changeling were a little excited. Mas, Menos, Terra, Jinx, Speedy, Aqualad and Kid Flash were mostly worried. Superboy, Robin, Ravager and Raven felt absolutely disgusted at the idea alone, because it clearly involved opening up.
"Wait, so is this gonna happen to all of us?" Speedy frowned. "And do we even get to choose what to sing?"
"I didn't. It was completely involuntary…" Bumblebee answered.
"But it was so sweet!" Kory squealed happily.
"Sure, this time, it was. But what if the next one isn't as nice?" Richard asked. "If we don't have control over it…"
"Well, I'm not singing shit." Ravager said pointedly.
"Me neither." Damian adamantly folded his arms.
"Why are you excited?" Raven whispered to Garfield.
The shapeshifter shrugged and whispered back to her. "I mean, there are worse things…"
The empath sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'm going to murder Klarion."
"So wait, what do we do?" Connor asked urgently. "Jinx? Raven? Nightwing?"
Richard offered him and everyone else a concerned look. "Well, I think we should go home before someone else bursts into song."
Seriously, someone's gotta stop that warlock, lol.
Carry You Home (Alex Warren)