Wet Dice: I can't write that well so I won't even try lol but thank you soo much! Yes, my cruelty has limits xD

Thank you guys so much for every fave/follow and for reading! I probably won't be able to update on Wednesday because...well, I'll tell you when I update again, but it's for a good reason I promise! xD

Happy reading!

Eye of the Storm

The Changeling struggled to create the creature that would later be known as Garro from scratch. It was extremely painful and unlike anything he'd ever tried before. It wasn't even a matter of not being ready for it; it felt more like something he shouldn't be doing at all. It didn't feel natural and smooth like his other transformations. This one hurt. It strained not only his body, but his mind. In fact, he could practically feel it faltering, slowly driving him insane. But he took one look at Raven's body and his mind cleared for a moment.

That gigantic, green, intergalactic starfish made a huge and instant difference in morale. He easily crossed the battlefield, releasing smaller starfish to take over their enemies, attaching to their faces and turning them against each other. The ones who were still in control of their own bodies attacked, but nothing could kill him, because he simply regenerated any part of his body they destroyed. The heroes' hearts filled with hope once again and they charged into battle, more fueled than ever. It was a new, angrier, more decisive boost of energy that drove them amazingly close to obliterating the villains.

Wonder Girl joined Zatanna, Miss Martian, Blue Beetle and Terra in fighting Kalibak, who was slowly being subdued and nearly swallowed by the ground. Barry and Wally confused their enemies and protected their friends from surprise attacks all around. Static Shock destroyed villains left and right, sliding across the air on his board as if he could do this all day. Bumblebee joined him and they coordinated their blasts, making sure whoever got hit wouldn't get back up so soon. Cyborg's superior technology easily took care of any villains who relied on gadgets.

The Sirens, Deathstroke, Red-X, Nightwing, Ravager and Robin skillfully fought the half of Darkseid's armies that wasn't under Garro's control. The New God released some of them, but Garro got a hold of others, in a surprisingly balanced mental battle. Superman and Superboy realized the giant green starfish was going for Darkseid and flew to his side within a split second. The New God called for reinforcements, but his other allies were being kept busy on the other side of this battle, as he'd figured they would be.

This had been the plan. To draw the Earth's heroes' attention elsewhere and catch these insufferable, powerful few off guard, easily destroy them and then move on to finish the job without any inconvenient interferences from Trigon's annoyingly resourceful firstborn, wildcard shapeshifting monsters, cyborgs or a team-up of aggravating aliens, speedsters and Amazons. He knew this team would be mighty, but small, so he hadn't expected to need help to take them down. Killing them off fast was the whole reason he'd forced them to split up. But it seemed the plan had backfired, and now he was slightly worried.

The magical, mystical ball of energy around Raven's body disappeared when Darkseid got ready to defend himself against Superman and Garro. Superboy quickly caught her limp, unconscious body, flying over to Nightwing, who picked her up and gave Conner a sure nod. Superboy flew back to Superman and Changeling's side.

"Cyborg!"

Victor Stone turned around and saw Richard with a still passed out Raven in his arms. His face hardened in fierce determination, because he could tell what Nightwing wanted from him just from the look in his eyes. "I got you."

Damian grabbed the Radion cannon and gave Nightwing a nod, so Dick made his way to the bunker Raven and Starfire had been hiding in while Cyborg covered him, since he was carrying the empath. All the while he was silently praying to find Kory alive, because he had no idea how to keep his head in the game if he was about to find out he'd lost her. Every step came with a dreadful knot in his gut.

When Richard finally entered the bunker as Cyborg stood by the entrance to make sure no one else got in, he nearly forgot all about the tragic circumstances outside, because his heart instantly filled with relief at Kory's soft weeping. He'd recognize her little sobs anywhere. Obviously something was wrong, but she was alive. There was no need for security codes, because the bunker had obviously been invaded. It was utterly wrecked.

When his eyes met Starfire's, a mix of emotions crossed both their faces. Love and gratitude for seeing each other, and horror – in Kory case, because Dick was carrying her best friend's body and she couldn't tell if she was breathing, and in his case, because Kory was badly injured and kneeled down next to a clearly disturbed Jinx. He had never seen Starfire this hurt before. In fact, no one had. She was covered in bruises and bleeding and it made his heart wrench. Jinx on her end seemed completely out of it, staring at the wall with huge, fearful eyes and whispering nonsense while she held her knees to her chest.

Koriand'r had been trying to calm the enchantress down, with remarkable success. As bad as Jinx was now, she wasn't nearly as bad as when Kory woke up and found her screaming and digging her nails into her own skin. Kory had wisely decided it was all she could do, because she could barely move without wincing in pain and would be completely useless against Darkseid right now. So she stayed and did her best to help Jinx. But now the Tamaranean's focus was on Raven's still, silent figure.

Nightwing realized his girlfriend's fears and quickly spoke up. "She's alive!" He walked up to them and gently lowered Raven's body to the floor next to Starfire, then cupped her now extremely relieved and grateful face in his hands and examined it. His expression contorted with regret and sorrow. "What happened?"

Starfire pressed a soft kiss to the palm of his hand to soothe him and took a deep breath. "I think Trigon was doing something to her. Or to her children. And then Darkseid showed up. I tried to protect them, I did, but I-I…" She choked up and wept, staring at her friend's body with remorseful eyes.

"Shhh no, babe, you were perfect." Richard whispered as he pulled her into a careful hug and stroked her hair. "Guess what? Gar turned into Starro! You know, the Conquerer?"

The Tamaranean pulled back and stared at him with huge – and for once hopeful – eyes.

"Yeah." Nightwing smiled. "And Superman is here. I'd say we have a shot. And I mean one shot, because there's only one bullet left, but…maybe that's all we need."

Meanwhile, Gar could feel his mind slipping away. This form was completely taking over him and he knew if he stayed like this he would lose control. But Darkseid wasn't defeated yet. Raven wasn't safe yet. He had eyes all around the battlefield and no one was safe yet. They needed him. It was the hardest thing he would ever have to do, but amazingly enough the decision wasn't hard at all. Whatever version of him had once been selfish, it was nowhere to be found. He would choose the world over himself a thousand times.

He saw Damian holding onto the Radion cannon through one of the aliens he'd taken. This is it. Superman and Superboy were keeping Darkseid considerably busy, but he was too strong. It wouldn't be enough. So Garro waited for the perfect moment and attached an enormous starfish to the New God's face. He could only take control for a moment, not just because he felt less and less like Garfield Logan with each passing second and needed to finish this before he was completely gone, but because Darkseid's mind was too powerful and he was already fighting back.

Garro only needed a moment, though. The New God jumped to Damian's side and before Robin could even aim, Darkseid himself took the weapon from him, pressed the tip of the barrel to the side of his head and fired. Radion burned through his brain, finally releasing him from mind-control, but killing his physical body as well. The superheroes attacked him with everything they had but the substance was already weakening him with each passing second. Kalibak had been dismantled once more. Doomsday was history. His other allies were likely facing defeat on the other side of the battle at this point.

When Darkseid's body – or rather his avatar since his immortal, true form was still out there – fell lifeless to the floor, his armies and villains who weren't under Garro's control tried to escape, and the heroes cheered and celebrated, though in a much more contained manner than they did at the last invasion, because this victory had shed much more blood – they still didn't even know how much yet. Still, once they heard news from Batman and learned the war was won on both ends, relief took over their hearts.

Except for one. Gar was barely there at this point. There was so little left of him, in the back of his mind he knew all hopes of being human again were gone. His power lust was growing, his greed, his desire to conquer…he was becoming Starro. Their minds were fusing and he didn't have much longer. He damned the fact that he wouldn't get to say goodbye. He damned not knowing for sure if Raven was okay and seeing her again. But only for a moment, because those memories were fading. He barely recognized these people cheering for him. Were these his friends? He couldn't remember them. Even…her. He knew there was a her. He just couldn't remember her name anymore.

Back in the bunker, Starfire and Nightwing had hastily turned around when Raven grunted softly. She started moving to sit up and they immediately helped, dreadfully waiting until she opened her eyes to realize in utter relief that they were their usual shade of violet.

"What happened, Rae?" Kory asked.

Raven tried to steady her breathing as her vision gradually became less blurred. "Trigon…" She panted, rubbing her head. "He's trying to corrupt…"

They immediately understood when she covered her toned stomach with her arms and frowned. Kory and Dick gasped in concern.

"Give me a minute." Raven said, sitting cross-legged in her Lotus position.

They expectantly watched her transform into White Raven once again and chant her mantra quietly a few times. Starfire kept rubbing soothing circles on Jinx's back.

"Okay." The empath opened her eyes. "When Darkseid invaded my mind, it pushed Trigon back. I locked him down again." She bit her lip at their bright smiles. "At least for now."

Raven knew it. This wasn't the end of it. Her father wasn't done. But then she got a terrible feeling in her gut and forgot all about him, because it was one of those premonitory feelings she only got when something was terribly wrong.

"What is it?" Nightwing asked as he saw Raven's eyes fill with fear.

"Where is Gar?"

By the time a platinum-haired Raven teleported herself, Nightwing, Starfire and Jinx out of the bunker, the war was won, but now the heroes were worriedly looking up at Garro, because for some reason he seemed…dangerous. He wouldn't let the villains under his control go even though they were beaten and Superman had been asking him to. Gar didn't even seem to be listening.

Wally rushed to their side and held Jinx close, instantly realizing she was deeply distraught. She accepted it and wept softly into his shoulder, relaxing her muscles slightly into his embrace. Starfire leaned on Nightwing and Cyborg quickly made his way to them.

"He defeated Darkseid." Victor told them, noticing Raven's fixed gaze on the giant starfish wasn't the proud, carefree stare he expected, but a pained and concerned frown. It confirmed his worries that something wasn't right. "Rae, why won't he change back?"

"He can't." The empath whispered, still staring at Garro, never averting her gaze or blinking. She was sensing him and it was wrenching her heart. Her eyes filled with tears.

How many times will I have to lose him?

"What?" Nightwing asked. "What do you mean? Why not?!"

She could sense everyone else's concern and the other superheroes approaching to listen, but she still didn't remove her eyes from him. "This form…can't be controled."

The others burst into loud exclamations of worry, desperate demands for further explanations and sad cries of hopelessness.

"He knew." Raven whispered sadly, still watching him, her own despair growing as less and less of Garfield Logan could be sensed. "He understands his powers too well by now not to know what this would do to him."

"Then why would he do this?!" Cyborg exclaimed.

"To save the world." Raven stated, her focus on him never wavering as he started taking over heroes now, no longer in charge of this form he'd manifested. She knew what he was about to do. She was more in love with him than ever and he was about to cease to exist. "To save you. To save me. Because he's a hero."

Richard looked around in horror as starfishes attached themselves to superheroes faces, making them fight each other. "How do we stop him? Wally, maybe you and Flash-"

"No need." Raven whispered sadly again. "He's leaving."

They watched in awe as the giant starfish moved towards the enormous portal most of the armies of Apokolips was using to escape.

"He's using his last decision to sacrifice himself." The empath exhaled.

They gasped, cried and protested, but she barely heard them. Her vision was blurred by the tears accumulated in her eyeballs, but she refused to drop them.

Because she still refused to give up on him.

"Raven?" Starfire asked in a concerned voice. Her friend seemed completely out of it and entirely focused at the same time somehow.

The empath finally looked away from Garro and stared fiercely at her friends, with sheer determination in her eyes. "Don't interrupt me."

And just like that she levitated into the air in a Lotus stance, closing her eyes, surrounded by ethereal warm, white glow as her soul-self detached from her body and traveled to the green monstrosity destroying everything in its path towards the intergalactic portal.

Gar? It's me. Please don't leave me.

Garro faltered. Her voice, her aura…it was familiar. But he couldn't quite remember her. He couldn't even remember himself.

I'll always find you, remember? I want to show you something.

And then his mind was invaded by a vision. It wasn't quite hazy, but there was a pearly, pale, golden glow to it, as if he were prying into someone's favorite dream. There was a lean, green-skinned man comfortably sprawled on a bed, an ashen purple-haired woman snuggled up against him, peacefully breathing in sync as they slept. Three dogs and two kittens were cuddled between them. There were soft background sounds from the TV beside the bed, but then a loud ringing cut through the air, waking them up and startling the cats, who jumped off the bed as the dogs stretched out further. The man sighed lazily as the woman buried her face into his chest and inhaled.

"It's the T-communicator…" He said in his raspy voice.

"It's not a crime alert." She whispered languidly.

"How do you know?"

"If there was something bad enough for them to need us…" She sighed and pointed at the TV. "…it would be on the news. And one of us would have sensed something."

He smiled breezily at the ceiling. "You're right. No surprises there."

"It's probably the kids."

His hand found its way to her hair and stroked it gently. "Whose turn is it?"

"Mine…" She whispered tiredly in her hoarse tone, moving so her face was hovering over his and capturing his lips in a long, sweet kiss. Her hair fell to one side of her face and she smiled against his lips as he reached up to tuck it behind her ear.

"How is it possible I love you even more than yesterday?" He muttered into the kiss.

She pulled back and rolled her eyes fondly, then picked up the ringing device from the bedside table, sitting up slowly before answering it.

"Mom?!" A pale teenage girl with pointy ears sticking out of her long, wavy green hair and bright purple eyes appeared on the small round communicator's screen.

"Yes, Illyana?"

"Mark sucks!"

"Don't believe anything she says!" Another teenager – Mark, apparently – came up behind the girl, looking just as upset as her. His skin was jade-colored, like the man's, his eyes were golden and his hair was messy and black.

The teenagers engaged in a confusing argument, one trying to speak over the other. The woman rolled her eyes again while the man chuckled. "One at a time, please."

"He keeps taking my stuff!" Illyana complained. "He took my magic book!"

"I'm trying a new spell!"

"Well you should have asked me!"

"You would have said no! You're so weird about your stuff!"

Illyana huffed loudly in outrage.

"Mark, you can't take your sister's things without permission." The woman said tiredly, rubbing her temples.

The teenage boy gasped as the green-haired girl grinned pridefully. "Well dad said I could if I had, like, a really good reason!"

The green man's muscles tensed up where he was lying on the bed as the woman shot him a questioning look. "Did he, now? What did I say about listening to your father?"

"…it's a risky gamble." Mark murmured grumpily.

"Right. And Illyana, wipe that smile off your face. Your brother and you are on the same team, if he needs your help to try something new, that's in your best interest too."

The girl bit her lip, looking down.

"What kind of spell are you working on, Mark?" The purple-haired woman asked.

"Okay so you know how I can access any demon's powers by turning into them?" The boy said excitedly, his hair slowly turning brown. "Well I was thinking maybe I could use her summoning thing to-"

"Animal summoning is MY thing." Illyana interrupted pointedly. "Isn't it enough to be able to turn into Trigon?! Why do you always have to take everything that's mine!? Seriously, mom, next thing you know he'll start healing too! Is dad there? He'll get it, it's SO annoying!"

"Relax, Beast Whisperer, I don't wanna steal your queen-of-the-jungle trick." Mark rolled his eyes. "I wanted to try using it on demons. Turning into them can be unpleasant."

"Oh." The girl straightened up and widened her eyes for a moment. "Oh, um. Well, I don't think that'll work. I don't really command the creatures I summon, they answer to me because we're friends."

"Yes I know that, but I thought maybe I could adapt it."

"That's a good idea, Mark." The ashen-skinned, beautiful woman said.

Illyana hesitated and frowned, engines turning in her head. "I mean…maybe."

Mark's hair slowly turned white and he smiled at his sister. "So…you'll help me!?"

The green-haired girl rolled her shoulders back and cleared her throat. "…fine."

"Great. We'll see you in Titan Tower later." The woman said, shutting the communicator down and turning her attention back to the green man. He had his arms folded behind his head and a giant grin on his face. It instantly brought a small smile to her lips. "What?"

"You're so good at that." He pulled her by the arm so she was lying on top of him again, getting a soft giggle out of her. "And so, so pretty."

"At scolding them? Yes, I'm fantastic. You're still their favorite." She rolled her eyes lovingly. "You're the fun one. Not that I blame them."

"Nonsense." He shot her a toothy grin. "Besides, you're my favorite."

"I can live with that." She cupped his chin in her hand and sweetly pecked his lips. "C'mon, we might as well get up. We promised Dick we'd give the newbies a demonstration later and we haven't prepared anything."

He huffed playfully, wrapping his arms around her waist. "We don't need any preparing, we're naturals! Let's just stay here and make out 'till we have to go meet everyone."

"So…no breakfast?"

"Maybe I'll just have Raven today, please." He pulled her down into a passionate kiss.

Raven. That's her name.

She smiled against his lips. "You're still insufferable, Gar…"

Gar. Garfield. Garfield Logan. That…that was me.

"Yeah, but you love it." He whispered merrily into the kiss. "You love me."

Raven pulled back to smile at him. Her eyes glistened with affection. "I do."

Garro was immobile now, extremely confused as to what he'd just watched as the vision faded away. But then her voice spoke inside his head again.

Gar, that's our future. Or…it CAN be. That can still be our future, I just looked. But you need to come back to me. Please come back to me, love. Fight it. You can win.

I…Raven. I remember.

The green starfishes detached from people's faces everywhere, falling to the floor and melting away. Garro began diminishing in size. Everyone turned their attention to him and watched in awe – and no small amount of relief – as the gigantic monster got smaller and smaller at the same time the intergalactic portal shut down. The heroes finally relaxed and dropped to their knees to breathe and contemplate their win or mourn their losses.

I know who I am. I am Garfield Logan.

Raven opened her eyes and teleported to Gar's side as he finally took human form again and fainted into her arms. She quickly removed her cloak and wrapped it around his unconscious body, cradling his head and gently shaking him as her eyes and hair slowly returned to their usual purple shade.

"Gar?"

The Changeling grumbled feebly and frowned. "Mmm…Rae?"

They were covered in dust, blood and sweat, but when he opened his eyes all he saw was a giant smile taking over her face, her eyes glistening with happy, proud tears and her hand glowing white as she began healing his injuries. It felt like Heaven to him.

Garfield's lips spread into an enormous grin at the sight. "You…you're okay. I…it worked?"

"It did, love." She caressed his cheek and nodded. "You saved me. You saved everyone."

He averted his gaze to her stomach. "And-"

"They're okay." She said quickly, stroking his hair. "We're all okay. Thanks to you."

Garfield beamed at her. "I'll always rescue you, love."

He grunted as he struggled to sit up and she continued to soothe his pain with warm healing magic, but he soon gently gripped her wrists and urged her to stop, because she was exhausted and he could tell it was hurting her. His body was terribly sore, but she'd closed his open wounds and before she knew it, he was eagerly closing the distance between their lips, because he couldn't believe she was alive and well and so was he. And so were their babies.

"I…you found me." He sobbed against her lips. "Like you always do."

"I'll always rescue you too." She whispered, cradling his neck and kissing him back.

He smiled through the tears. "So…we're having a boy and a girl?"

"Some reveal party, huh? Very…us."

They pulled away to smile at each other, but the other Titans approached and enveloped both of them in a tight and teary group hug. For once, even Raven and Damian happily accepted it, especially after they looked around to see that this time celebrations were much more contained, because this time there had been casualties, but they were all still here and felt indescribably grateful for it. Not that they escaped with no consequences. Garfield still looked a bit shaken; Starfire was terribly hurt and Jinx's mind seemed…shattered. But still, they were alive.

Zatanna came up to them after getting Batman, and Damian and Richard both jumped to their feet to hug their father. Bruce Wayne embraced them with no reservations this time. "We won. But I was so worried about you."

"Oh, we won." Nightwing's chuckles came out strangled by emotional sobs. "We had Starro the Conquerer on our side." He said playfully and proudly.

"Oh I heard." Batman said, smiling approvingly.

The Changeling sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Tim and Babs?" Nightwing asked Batman in a suddenly serious voice.

"They're okay."

Dick exhaled and turned to Garfield. "We thought we lost you, BB."

"You did." The Changeling said, tiredly holding onto Raven's cloak around his body, and directing his loving gaze to her. "Rae brought me back."

The empath just gave him a soft, but extremely passionate smile.

"Yeah thanks, man. That was…you know, beyond incredible." Conner told the shapeshifter. "But let's make sure you never need to use it again."

"Please." Gar intently agreed.

"So is Darkseid dead?" Terra asked.

"Not his true form, this is just an avatar." Superman came in and answered, staring at the enormous, lifeless flesh and bone on the floor. "But this gives us plenty of time to collect more Radion – which is what we should have done last time. I'll take care of it."

"Yes, I don't think he'll be back here anytime soon." Batman stated pointedly.

Superman nodded and turned his attention to Raven and the Changeling. "I'd say he won't risk it at least while your offspring lives." He realized Darkseid hadn't exactly stated who the father was and awkwardly addressed Garfield. "I mean, I…I assume…"

For some reason, that made both Raven and Gar blush.

"Yes, they're his." She quickly clarified.

"Congratulations." Clark said kindly. "This won't be easy, but you have our support."

Cyborg pulled Bumblebee close and held her lovingly, fighting back happy tears.

"Yes." Bruce agreed, nodding at the Titans. "I understand why you've kept this a secret, but now that we know maybe we can…" He trailed off when he saw Selina stumbling across the battlefield, wounded and tired, but very much alive. "I…I'll be right back."

Batman left to go talk to Catwoman and Nightwing smirked knowingly. Raven would have done the same, but she was busy watching Garfield's face as he rubbed soothing circles over her abdomen. The empath reached out and healed a small cut above his eyebrow.

And that made her realize something. Raven looked up at Superman and frowned regretfully. "I…I spent so much power pulling him back and…I don't think I can-"

"Heal anyone right now." Clark said softly, nodding his head to let her know no one expected her to. She was pregnant and had just been through a lot. "You should rest."

Garfield shot him an extremely grateful look.

"But I…" Raven looked around at the injured heroes who were still struggling to survive and her eyes welled up. She tried to stand up, but Gar urgently pulled her back down.

"There's no need for that, Doomsday." Damian said before turning to his grandfather, folding his arms. "Right, Ra's? We can use the Lazarus Pit and give Raven a break, yes? Small dosages, obviously."

It wasn't so much a request as a demand, obviously. Superman was right there.

The Head of the Demon regretted standing this close to them and sighed. "Just this once. But no resurrections. Those are…let's just say they come at a high price."

Superman gave him a quick, sure nod.

Raven finally relaxed her muscles, filling Garfield with relief. Then she noticed Starfire's state and frowned in distress. "Oh, Kor…"

"She'll be okay." Damian said softly, absentmindedly holding Ravager's hand as she came up beside him. "The water of life will heal her."

Nightwing smiled at him and helped Starfire up. "That's right. Let's go fix this, babe."

But before they could leave with Ra's, they heard Superboy's quiet gasp and averted their attention to the direction he was staring at. Batman and Catwoman were kissing quite passionately, which made the Titans' stern celebration turn a little brighter, since soft chuckles and even whistles inevitably escaped their lips, especially when they noticed how awkward Damian and Dick looked.

"Raven…Garfield…" M'gann suddenly started in a strangled voice. She hadn't been able to laugh with the others. When they redirected their gaze back to her, she choked up. "I-I'm so sorry…I let him see where you were and I-I hope you can forgive me…"

Conner resisted the urge to pull her closer and hug her tightly. He would do it later, but right now Raven was already shaking her head in shock and was probably about to say exactly what Miss Martian needed to hear.

"Don't be absurd, M'gann. I'm so sorry you had to do this for me. You were so brave." The empath said truthfully. "And we're okay. There's nothing to forgive."

"Yeah, totally." Garfield smiled and nodded at Miss Martian. "I mean are you kidding? This is Darkseid. The dude is a God in his planet. Right?" He turned to Raven for confirmation. When she nodded, with an amused smile on her lips, he turned to the Martian again. "Right, so…obviously no one blames you! You were awesome!"

Miss Martian smiled gratefully, especially when the other Titans all seemed to agree.

"We were all awesome." Cyborg said in a happier tone. "I mean, seriously, what else could possibly come for us?!"

At that exact moment, Raven grunted in pain and held onto her abdomen. A flash of scarlet red crossed her violet eyes.

"What is it?!" Garfield urgently looked her up and down, with extremely worried eyes.

The empath took a few deep breaths and shook her head. "Nothing. I'm okay."

It didn't put their concerns to rest, but at least for now she seemed fine.

"You had to say it, didn't you?" Bumblebee muttered disapprovingly to Cyborg.

He shrugged apologetically, but Raven waved a hand to dismiss it, clearly trying to reassure everyone she really was okay. Their focus shifted as government aircrafts started landing around them to take care of the damage before civilians could be brought back to what was left of their homes, mostly because one severe-looking woman walked up to them for some reason, with certainty in every step.

"Changeling?" She said firmly. "I'm going to have to ask you to come with us."

"Excuse me?" Nightwing asked dryly. "Who are you?"

"Amanda Waller. Nice to meet you." She shook Nightwing's hand, though he was narrowing his eyes at her. "I represent ARGUS."

Raven watched her intently. She didn't trust this woman one bit and there was no way she was letting Garfield leave with her.

The Titans helped the Changeling and Raven up on their feet and the shapeshifter frowned at Amanda. "And why do you need me to go with you? And to where?"

She held her head high. "After what we just witnessed, we need to make sure you're not a national threat. Or global, for that matter. I advise you to cooperate."

Garfield grimaced, instinctively taking a step back. His instincts were shouting at him to stay away from her. It didn't help that Raven's muscles were tensed so whatever she was sensing from this woman wasn't good.

Nightwing noticed them. "Sorry, but he's not going anywhere without the rest of us."

Amanda Waller took a bold step forward and treacherously softened her voice. "Titans, there's nothing to fear. It's our job to evaluate possible menaces that-"

"You're not taking him anywhere." Raven hissed pointedly.

And then they all knew this woman was trouble.

"If you want him you'll have to get through all of us." Cyborg said seriously.

Amanda Waller looked around, barely intimidated. "I don't think you understand. I'm not giving you a choice."

"He just saved the world." Terra argued in an annoyed voice.

"And we are grateful." Amanda nodded. "But he's dangerous." AND useful.

"So am I." Raven practically growled, her eyes fixed on Waller.

"Yes, indeed." Amanda agreed. "But it seems he's more likely to lose control." AND probably easier to manipulate.

"He just saved the world." Raven echoed Terra's words, though in a much more menacing tone, protectively stepping in front of him. "You should be on your knees, thanking him."

Amanda Waller smirked. "Are you going to make me, Raven?"

The empath's glare never wavered. Truthfully, she was seriously considering it.

"Of course she isn't." Garfield said, rubbing Raven's arms to calm her down. As much as he loved her defending him, he didn't want her to come off as a villain.

"Should I assume that is his child you're carrying?" Amanda mischievously asked Raven, ignoring the shapeshifter's attempt to lighten the mood. She was dying to know for sure.

The Changeling pushed Raven backwards and stepped in front of her, because now he was the one feeling protective. Amanda's eyes were entirely filled with greed.

The empath inhaled deeply. "That doesn't concern you."

"Actually, it-"

"Let me simplify this." Raven spoke in a dangerous voice, recovering her confidence at once and walking towards Waller, keeping a reassuring hand back on Gar's arm. In spite of being exhausted, her eyes glowed white for a moment before turning violet again. "If you go anywhere near him, you'll have to deal with me."

Her voice was downright guttural at the last word and she took pleasure in seeing Amanda finally falter. The Changeling felt absurdly grateful for her, because he really didn't want to go, but he didn't want to be the one challenging some secret government organization.

"And me." Cyborg stood by Raven's side.

Terra stepped forward. "And me."

One by one, the heroes stood in front of the shapeshifter, glaring at Waller, challenging her to defy them. Even Starfire, in her current condition, still managed to look menacing. Only Wally and Jinx waited from afar, because Jinx was in no shape to defend someone.

Amanda considered her odds and decided she didn't like them. "If he gets out of hand, you'll have to answer for it."

"Not a problem." Nightwing said confidently. "I take full responsibility for him. For all of them. Have a nice day, Waller."

She gave them one last annoyed, angry stare and huffed. Raven's face momentarily changed, with four demonic red eyes taking over for a second. No one else saw it because they were all busy glaring at her, but Amanda didn't miss it. It was like a silent threat. She puffed her chest, spun on her heels and left. The Titans exhaled, practically in sync.

Raven turned around and realized Gar looked scared. And she knew why. He wasn't scared of ARGUS or anyone else, he was scared of himself. And confused. She pulled him into a hug and whispered in his ear. "Don't listen to her."

The Changeling fought back tears. "I…what did I do?"

He pulled back and gave his friends a vulnerable, completely destroyed look. It was nearly impossible to believe it was the same boy who'd done that much damage earlier.

"You saved the world." Raven said surely, looking into his eyes.

"No, but…" He frowned miserably. "She said I'm dangerous…I don't remember much between infecting Darkseid and your voice pulling me back."

The empath just brought her hands to his face, caressing his cheeks with her thumbs. "Do you trust me?"

"With my life."

"You did nothing wrong. They just want your power. You're my hero, okay?"

This time there was no irony, no eye-rolling, no cringing at the term.

Garfield's heart was instantly soothed. "Okay."

"You're okay, man." Cyborg gently rubbed his shoulder. "It's okay. You're back."

Gar sniffled and finally smiled again.

"You're home."

Eye of the Storm (Watt White)