Your kind words have fueled me and I am here a day earlier! xD
PSI-Triforce: Oh my Azar my idol has reviewed my story and it's witty and flattering and gdauydgasgf! Ahem, I tried to come up with a witty reply, I really did, but I think I should just say THANK YOU! That meant so much to me xD (And also, Idk about that, but...I do want NOT-DareDevil's contact, thanks!)
StardustStardust: I can't even, that is so amazing, that makes me so happy that I was able to somehow create something that kept you company! I hope you feel better! And thank you so much! xD
A315: AHHHHH whaaat?! THANK YOU! Your reviews nearly made ME happy cry LOL! Seriously I'm so happy right now. I love them so much too (I guess that's obvious, since I'm clearly obsessed with them hehe) xD We only have 5 chapters to go after this one :( But I'll post some stuff on AO3 for BBRae week (mostly fluff) and I'll eventually post an AU spinoff of this story, so I probably won't stop so soon hehe xD
Also THANK YOU for the new favs/follows! Each one makes me smile!
GUUUYS I'M PREGNAAAAANT! No it's not karma for putting Rae through hell, mine was planned lol. But still, it's cool to be going through it with her (though I hope mine is smoother!)
Anywaaaay, here you go! As usual excuse any spelling mistakes from your not-a-native-english-speaker author and...happy reading! xD
Leave Out All The Rest
Nightwing and Wonder Girl watched from afar as Garfield and Kory relentlessly tried to pamper Raven and she uselessly tried to dismiss them. It was a rather endearing and wholesome sight. Krypto was protectively resting his head on her recently developed baby bump while Salem brushed against it and purred. Garfield was rearranging the pillows around her over and over again and Starfire kept bringing her healthy snacks.
"Thank you for all your help, Donna." Dick said, not being able to contain the size of his smile, because after all, his entire team had survived yet another potential apocalypse and Kory was all better now.
"I'm staying until she has those babies." Donna stated surely.
Nightwing turned to her in surprise. "You are?"
"You are?!" Garfield squeaked from the couch, a huge grin on his face. He'd heard them, of course. And he definitely appreciated one more super-person around to defend Raven.
Wonder Girl smiled and approached them, being followed by Richard. "C'mon, two of the most powerful beings in the Universe are having children?" She shot Dick a quick glance. "You're gonna need help. I mean, everyone will come for these babies."
Raven frowned, because she knew Donna was right.
"Two of the most what?!" Garfield asked, his cheeks flushing already.
Raven's frown disappeared and was replaced by an amused and incredulous smile. She rolled her eyes. "Two of the most powerful beings in the Universe is what she said."
He blinked blankly at her. I mean technically I guess I am.
"How does that surprise you?" Raven asked him. "You know what you are, love."
Garfield shrugged and a coy chuckle escaped his lips. "Guess I just never thought of myself that way."
Donna and Dick shot him fond smiles and left to go prepare a new training routine.
Starfire came back with a rather strange alien snack. "Friend Raven you must eat-"
"Kory, please." Raven said tiredly. "I'm not Silkie, please stop trying to feed me."
Starfire grinned apologetically and tilted her head. "Ah…I suppose I am being a liiiittle overprotective…"
Raven bit her lip. Ever since Darkseid got his hands on her, everyone had been overprotective. Gar and Kory were just the worst ones. "A little. And I get why. But I'm okay, Kor. Everything's fine."
That wasn't entirely true. Trigon hadn't given up. He was just laying low for now. But if she told them that, they would freak out.
"Okay…" The Tamaranean sighed, then spotted her alien pet and smiled again, picking him up. "I suppose I can go bathe Silkie."
"Yes, please." Raven quickly agreed. "He smells terrible."
As soon as Kory left, the Changeling turned to his girlfriend. "So I've been thinking, now that we aligned with Damian's grandfather to defeat an alien invasion and all that, he might help you. I mean I'm sure we can get him to help you."
Raven tilted her head in confusion. "With?"
"Immortality."
She took an intake of breath and held it in.
"Listen." Garfield said intently, seeing the shocked look on her face. "Lazarus Pit. They could give you access. It could save you from…you know."
The empath exhaled and collected her thoughts. "I…no, Gar." She glanced at him and he looked miserable, confused and desperate all at once, so she decided to elaborate. "Being immortal by ascending was one thing, but…to stay here in this plane forever? While losing everyone I care about? I don't want that. Besides, Ra's mentioned something about a high price. I don't think the Pit is all that safe…"
He took her hands in his and stared at her with pleading eyes. "No but I'd stay with you, I'd use the Pit too and-"
"Stop." She whispered, rubbing his hands with her thumbs. "Gar…I love you, but I can't do that to us. I won't do that to us. I rather take my chances in Purgatory."
His face contorted in heartache again.
"I'll just have to run the place myself and make sure our children find me so I can make things nicer for them." Raven said in a surprisingly serious voice. She'd actually given this some thought. "I got this." She took one look at this pained face and decided to make him laugh. "I mean, who needs eternal rest anyway, right?"
It didn't work. His concerned frown just deepened.
Raven sighed. "Gar…it wouldn't work anyway. The Pit prolongs life but you can still be killed. And in our line of work…I'd eventually end up in Purgatory either way."
"Okay but it would at least buy me more time to-"
"Love." Raven said kindly, but firmly. "This isn't a problem we can fix, okay?"
The Changeling considered arguing, because it had been his job to provide hope when she lost it – which happened quite a lot – but at the same time, he wanted to give her more than hope this time. And then, at that moment, she grunted in pain. His eyes widened as she seemed to have a contraction, bending over her stomach and obviously struggling not to scream. It startled both Salem and Krypto too, and the space dog kept growling at Raven, but he clearly wasn't growling at Raven – rather at something inside of her.
"Love?! What do I do?!"
Raven reached out with one hand and held onto his arm, slowly steading her breath. She knew then and there this would only get worse and he needed to know about it. "It's why Darkseid got me so easily. It's Trigon. He wants them."
His wide eyes filled with horror.
"I'll protect them." She reassured him, still panting slightly, but sitting up straight again. "I can resist him for the three of us."
The Changeling bit his lip, because for some reason he thought she didn't sound as certain as she usually did. "Love…"
"I'll fight him. I can fight him." Raven breathed out, trying to convince herself as much as she was trying to convince him.
Garfield could tell she was worried. He placed a warm hand over her belly. She had started showing lately, but the baby bump was still rather small. Still, it was visible. He adored kissing it, talking to it and caressing it. But right now he felt tortured, because he wasn't sure how to protect it.
Raven opened her mouth to reassure him further, but then something amazing happened. She felt a slight and sudden movement inside of her – right against his hand. Garfield's face instantly lit up as their eyes met and she smiled affectionately.
"Was that a kick?!"
"It was." Raven nodded. "See? They're fighters too."
The Changeling chuckled and beamed, leaning in to kiss her lovingly.
"We'll be okay." She whispered against his lips, finally feeling his muscles relax as he melted into the kiss.
Unfortunately – but predictably – it didn't get any better. In fact, the next few weeks were a nosedive for Raven's pregnancy. Since she decided to adamantly resist him, Trigon decided to torture her, which he could easily do now that her energy was directed towards protecting her children from him while keeping the hormonal swings from unsettling her emotions and she was vulnerable. It got more difficult as her father grew stronger and Raven would constantly fall over in anguish – terrifying all her friends and nearly giving Garfield a heart attack – or wake up in the middle of the night in pain.
As her belly grew bigger, it also scared the life out of everyone, because it became covered in dark purple bruises and veins. It looked – and felt – extremely painful and she couldn't properly heal it. They even tried using Lazarus's Pit, but the healing wasn't effective and never lasted. She was getting beat up from inside out. It wasn't just her body that needed tending to. In fact, her bruises were simply a manifestation of the inner pain. They tried removing her powers to make Trigon powerless as well, but Raven quickly realized he could still influence her children and without her powers, she couldn't shield them.
With each check-up, Cyborg told them the babies were experiencing a bit more distress and getting less nutrients, while not in immediate danger. Raven got weaker, too. She would often get tired walking short distances and need to catch her breath and she was constantly frowning in distress and trying to cover it up. Trigon planned to get a hold of the children and use them to break loose by making them set him free. It was too big a turmoil for Raven's body and it was taking a toll on her.
Garfield was in agony. He didn't want to do anything other than stand by her anymore. All he wanted to do was take care of her and drown in self-loathing. She was hurt and it was only getting worse and he felt like it was all because of him. But Raven insisted that he didn't abandon his obligations, so he continued protecting the Red and helping the Titans on important missions, though with a painfully heavy heart.
And then one day he came back from the Red to Krypto barking worriedly in his face and Salem looking desperate. Even Silkie was there, crawling out of his room already. Not that they needed to warn him, because as soon as he was back, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end, his instincts alerting him something was wrong. Protect, they shouted from within. So Gar hurried into the ops room and saw her unconscious body on the floor. His heart stopped and his blood ran cold.
"RAVEN!" The Changeling ran over to her and pulled her upper torso into his arms, his hazy vision only becoming clear again when he saw her breathing. He gently removed hair from her face and realized it was glued to her skin by sweat. "Love?"
The empath frowned, keeping her eyes closed, and grunted slightly. "Gar…" She held onto his arm and squeezed it tightly. "I…ugh…"
Just give up, daughter. You're not even close to giving birth. I'm going to win.
Raven opened her eyes to stare into Garfield's desperate ones. "Help."
She was feverish. She was hurting. And she was pleading. His chest wrenched painfully as he carefully picked her up in his arms. The other Titans came rushing in at this point and Garfield turned around, carrying her, hardening his face and glaring at every single person in the room. "Why was she alone?"
Nightwing took a step forward in concern. "BB, is she oka-"
"WHO was watching her?!" The Changeling asked sternly.
"I'm okay…" Raven whispered weakly, resting her head on Garfield's shoulder. She could still sense him and he was fuming. She didn't want him to fight with them.
Cyborg remorsefully raised his hand and grimaced. His best friend's face didn't soften one bit and he knew he'd fucked up. "I'm sorry, I-"
"It's my fault." Wally came in and shot the shapeshifter a regretful look. "I'm worried about Jinx so I came over and asked Vic to help me with research on whatever Darkseid did to her head…she's not fully recovered. We didn't want to upset Raven so we, uh…"
"So you left her alone." Garfield stated coldly. His face still hadn't softened at all. He could sympathize with Kid Flash's situation, obviously, but he had been promised there would always be someone by her side. Now he felt like he couldn't trust anyone.
Raven wanted to interfere and ease his anger, but she was too tired and in pain.
Cyborg took a step forward, trying to see her face to make sure she really was okay. "It was only for a minut-"
"You shouldn't have left her at all!"
"I know!" The half-robot frowned, feeling absolutely crushed by guilt. "I'm so sorry, man, I really thought that she was fine and-"
"Does she look FINE to you!?" The Changeling spat out harshly, tilting his head down slightly so everyone would look at the bruised, barely awake girl in his arms. "What about her state makes you think she's FINE?"
All Raven sensed from the room – other than for Garfield's wrath – was shame. "Gar…stop…" She whispered. "I'm ok- ugh."
"No." He said adamantly, fighting back tears. "You are not okay. Stop saying you're okay. Nothing about this is okay. I'm not leaving your side aga-"
He nearly choked up and had to take a deep, shaky breath to hold the tears in. Because the truth, the cold, hard, undeniable truth he wouldn't dare to say out loud but was now terrifyingly apparent to everyone as she didn't even argue with him, was that she was dying. Slowly, but surely, they were watching her die. Raven hadn't been the only one in denial about that, but right now, at this moment, it was the unspoken fear on everyone's minds. Starfire sobbed quietly.
It was a bad enough realization without even considering what would happen to Trigon if Raven died. Without her to constantly fight him, would he still be trapped inside that gem? Would they need to assign someone else to keep an eye on him? Or would he break loose? And if he did, would he be sent back to whatever hellish dimension he came from or would he freely walk the Earth again? It was a lot to consider.
"You're right." Ravager suddenly said firmly, stepping forward and looking fiercely into Garfield's watery eyes. "You're absolutely right. She won't be alone again. In fact, I'll stay with her myself when you can't. I promise."
That eased his anger a notch. The Changeling nodded at Rose. "I-I gotta go."
She nodded back and stepped aside. The shapeshifter walked past their other teammates, ignoring their sad eyes and worried frowns and heading to her room, carefully laying her on her bed. And then he finally broke down. "I'm s-so sorry, love." He wept uncontrollably. "You…you were r-right."
Raven opened her eyes and stared at him tiredly, but curiously. She wasn't sure what he meant. If anything, he was right, because she really wasn't okay. Besides, he would usually kiss her belly after she had a crisis like this, but this time it was like he was purposefully refusing to even look at it. "Mmm?"
"This…I asked this of you." Gar sobbed, finally shooting her black and blue abdomen a quick, resentful glance. "You're g-going through this b-because of me." And it's killing you.
Raven's swollen, tired eyes widened slightly. "No, Gar." She said quietly, but surely, pulling on his uniform to sit up straight. It took some effort, but he helped her, and she wanted to be on eye-level with him for this. "You were right." She looked into his green, confused eyes and spoke every word with sharp certainty. "Listen to me. I need to protect them." She placed a hand on her belly. "I'll do anything for them. I love them. It's our job to protect them."
His guilt and anger nearly faded away – because he could tell she meant every word – and were replaced by an overpowering sense of duty, devotion and protectiveness.
"Don't be sorry, help me." She continued, panting slightly. "Please help me save them."
Garfield's face hardened again, but it wasn't severe. It was fierce and loving at the same time. His eyes pierced through her violet ones as he nodded once. "Okay."
"And Gar, if…if I don't make it…"
"No, stop." He said intently. "Don't start."
"Listen, please." Raven breathed out, gripping his arm. "Save us if you can but save them over me. And I'll fight, but if I don't make it…please promise me…" She fiercely begged him. "Take care of them. Give them your best. Like you gave me."
Gar stared at her with an utterly tortured face and whispered. "I promise, love."
Raven held onto her plush turtle Michelangelo and quickly drifted off to sleep.
When Garfield came back into the ops room, Cyborg and Kid Flash immediately stood up from the couch. Victor spoke up first. "I'm so, sosorry, BB…you're right, I never should have left. It'll never happen again. How is she? How can I make it up to you? Just tell me what you need, I wanna help."
Bumblebee smiled approvingly from where she was doing the dishes.
The shapeshifter stared at his best friend for a few long seconds before his frown finally disappeared. "I forgive you. Don't get me wrong, I was mad at you. But…I was mad at myself, too."
Cyborg's face filled with relief and confusion. "Why?"
"This whole thing…it's hurting her so much." Garfield took an intake of breath. "But…she doesn't regret it. She needs me to fix it. So I'll fix it."
The half-robot wasn't quite sure what he meant, but someone else spoke before he could ask him to elaborate.
"I'm sorry too." Wally whispered.
Gar shook his head. Kid Flash looked absolutely defeated and nearly as tired as Raven. "You're okay. How is Jinx?"
Wally's eyes welled up and he looked away. "I…I'm really worried. She comes and goes."
"I'm sorry." The Changeling said truthfully, his face softening up in pain. "I know she got hurt protecting Rae. What can I do?"
Kid Flash shot him a weak smile. "I just wish I'd seen her back there so I could have helped. I'm mad at myself too. I keep running the whole thing in my head over and over…"
"That doesn't help her." Garfield said kindly. "Listen, Rose is with Rae, so…maybe you two should continue your research and figure out how to help Jinx."
"What about you?" Victor asked.
The Changeling clenched his fists. "I'm going back to the Red and finding Dr. Strange."
And so he did. Gar didn't come back for several hours and Nightwing was actually starting to worry and wondering how they were supposed to follow him when the only other person who'd ever crossed that door was currently covered in cold sweat and practically delirious, grunting and rolling in pain while Karen, Rose and Kory desperately tried to keep her comfortable, safe and hydrated. He was beginning to wonder if his team would ever catch a break again. But before he could fall into despair, the shapeshifter came back.
Everyone in the ops room stood up at once – except for the girls who were tending to Raven on the couch, but the Changeling silently and decisively headed to Raven's room and came back with Stephen Strange's amulet and one of Scarlet Witch's books.
Dick watched him expectantly. "So? Did you talk to him? Did he help?"
"Oh, I know what to do." Gar said, heading to Raven's side and kneeling down next to her, taking the cloth from Starfire and cleaning sweat off the empath's forehead. "They crafted a protection spell. But I need magically-inclined people."
"Gar…?" Raven asked, trying to focus her glazed eyes on him.
"I'm here." He firmly held her face in his hands. "I got you, love. I'm going to save you."
"And…and…"
"And them." Gar tenderly rubbed her belly and whispered. "I'm saving all of you."
She shot him a weak, but relieved smile.
The Changeling leaned in to kiss her forehead and stood up again. "Dick, get Zatanna here? I'm reaching out to Rae's Coven."
Nightwing promptly nodded. "You got it, man."
Zatanna and the Coven made their first attempt at shielding Raven and her children from Trigon by borrowing her power and greatly enhancing her strength while weakening him at the same time that very same day. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. The spell failed and died, making the Changeling's heart tighten even more, because now Trigon knew what they were up to and decided to punish Raven for it. Gar let her grip his hand and did his best not to break down while she squirmed in pain.
"We need more power." Zatanna told him, still catching her breath. "We were almost there. One more sorcerer should do it."
Gar swallowed his tears, gave Raven's hand a gentle squeeze and nodded surely. "Okay, you need help? I'll get you help. No one leaves until she's safe." He shot all of them a pleading look. "Please?"
Zatanna smiled sadly. "I'm not going anywhere, Changeling."
He glanced at the other witches and warlocks and realized they all agreed, so he relaxed slightly, leaning in to whisper in Raven's ear. "I need to go so I can save you. I'll be back soon, I promise." He devotedly kissed her hand and wrist and then left in a hurry.
Garfield tried the Titans East first. Using Krypto's super-speed, he landed, half-heartedly greeted everyone and got right to the point.
"Where's Jinx? I need Jinx."
The Titans East exchanged concerned looks with one another.
"Ah…" Terra rubbed her arm. "…she's not doing so well, BB…"
"Well neither is Raven." The Changeling said urgently, allowing vulnerability into his voice.
Terra frowned worriedly, somewhat questioningly, refraining from asking why she was just now hearing about this because she had been trying to fight the habit of making other people's problems be about her.
"I asked Wally not to tell you." Gar told her, practically reading her thoughts. "I figured you'd feel obligated to be there and there isn't anything you can do…"
Terra bit her lip. "I…I can understand that."
Kid Flash showed up, with dark circles under his eyes. "Oh. Hey, BB."
"Hi, Wally. Can I talk to Jinx? Please?"
"Sure." The speedster shrugged weakly. "She's in her room."
Garfield rushed past him and headed to the enchantress' room, quickly knocking on her door twice before opening it up. Jinx was sitting on her bed, a blank stare fixated on the wall, hands on her lap, shoulders dropped in defeat. It made him falter, because he'd never seen her like this. "Jinx…? I need your help."
"Mm?"
"With Raven." He slowly walked towards her, speaking softly. "She's not well. The pregnancy is…complicated. Trigon's trying to use our babies to escape…it's hurting her. Badly. I know how to protect them, but…I need another witch."
The enchantress sighed and averted her sad gaze to him.
"Please, Jinx." His eyes welled up. "I know it isn't fair to ask more of you right now, but…I…" A strangled sob escaped his lips before his voice lowered to a nearly inaudible whisper. "I t-think she's dying."
"Changeling…trust me, you don't want my help." Jinx's shaky, unsure voice promised. "My powers aren't working properly…I'd probably mess it up."
Just staring at her suddenly pained face, he knew it was true. And he knew it was hopeless. She wouldn't get better anytime soon and he was in urgent need of assistance.
Zatanna frowned as soon as Garfield came back to Titan Tower empty-handed. "So?"
"Jinx can't do it. Where's Rae?"
"She's resting. She's finally asleep. Ravager and Starfire are with her."
"Are they awake?" He asked worriedly. "She's been having nightmares every ni-"
"Yes, Changeling." Zatanna said calmly, walking up to him. "Now, focus. We still need help. I don't think her body can handle another failure. It has to work this time."
Gar looked up at her. "Constantine?"
Zatanna regretfully bit her lip. "I already tried. He came in while you were gone."
"And?"
"He took one look at her and said he's not helping her kill herself and she should put an end to this madness before she dooms us all."
The Changeling's muscles automatically flexed.
Zatanna furrowed her brows. "I…I can't say I blame him, Garfield…"
"I know. And Raven?"
"Refuses to listen."
The shapeshifter nodded. "I know her, she's not changing her mind about this." He miserably turned away from Zatanna. "I either find a way or lose them all…"
Damian leaned against the wall. "So…does anyone have another idea?"
Gar collapsed on the couch and grunted loudly in frustration. "I mean…I have one."
Nightwing's eyebrows shot up. "Oh?"
"A bad one." The shapeshifter grumbled.
His eyes met Richard's and the Titan leader frowned. "You can't be serious."
"Well I'm allears if you have another idea, man." Garfield said, spreading his arms wide for emphasis. "Seriously. Any idea." He looked around the room. "Anyone?"
"What are you two talking about?" Conner asked the question in everyone's minds.
Miss Martian gasped, because she couldn't help taking a peek at the shapeshifter's idea. And then an awkward moment of silence passed as Dick, Gar and M'gann all exchanged knowing looks, mutually agreeing to not say it out loud because Zatanna was rightthere and there was a very real chance the Justice League wouldn't agree to this plan. They obviously wanted to help Raven, but it was a high-risk idea that could absolutely backfire, and it involved freeing someone they probably wouldn't be able to control afterwards. There would be a whole debate about this and it would certainly consume time.
Time Raven didn't have.
Nightwing cleared his throat and nodded at Garfield. "Okay. Do it."
"What's with all the mystery?" Zatanna narrowed her eyes and folded her arms.
"Just…" The Changeling turned to her with pleading eyes.
Zatanna sighed, because she instantly knew there was something slightly illegal about this plan and that it was better if she didn't know. She was in anguish seeing Raven like that and saying no to the face Garfield was giving her right now would have been nearly impossible anyway. "Fine. But hurry. She's getting worse. Do what you must."
And so that's how the Changeling found himself walking side by side with Deathstroke while he instructed him to stealthily invade a high-security magical prison.
"So let me make sure I understand you." Slade said in his usual smooth tone. "You want me to break Klarion the Witch Boy out of prison?"
"Yes."
Deathstroke frowned. "Aren't you the heroes? Why do you want him free? Have you run out of villains to fight? Have things been this boring since my banishment?"
"Raven needs his help." Garfield said dryly, smirking and folding his arms when Slade's muscles tensed up. That would still happen every time someone mentioned her name. Slade hadn't even dared to change sides when she was in Darkseid's grasp. The Phantom Zone had definitely scarred him for life. "So unless you want to cross her…"
"No need to make threats." Deathstroke shook his shoulders slightly to regain control. "You know I'll never do that again. But why do you need me? Can't you free him yourself?"
"I could." Garfield answered pointedly. "But ever since Garro, the government's kinda keeping an eye on me. I'd rather not accumulate criminal evidence against me."
"Understood."
A few hours later, Klarion grinned wickedly as he followed Deathstroke out of his cell. He was still weakened by the magical handcuffs around his wrists, but Slade said those would come off if he agreed to help the person who ordered his release, so things were definitely looking up.
"So she really brought you back, then." The warlock teased.
"Obviously." Deathstroke stated coldly.
Klarion chuckled. "So, who are we meeting? Why the mystery?"
"You'll see."
Teekl growled suspiciously, but followed along. She'd found her way to Klarion and kept him company in his imprisonment. It made him much more grounded. His composure nearly went away when he saw who they were meeting, though. Changeling was standing there, tall and smug, with his arms folded and a smirk on his face. Teekl wasn't quite as upset as the warlock. In fact, she felt rather calm. She was part of the Animal Kingdom, after all, and this green man's presence was oddly familiar and comforting to her.
"I'd like to go back to prison, please." The Witch Boy spat out.
Garfield was unfazed and simply hardened his face. "That can easily be arranged."
"What do you want?" Didn't he just defeat Darkseid and get my girl pregnant? News like that travelled fast, especially when your familiar could get in and out of jail and keep you in the loop. Did he free me just to gloat? "If you think I'd ever help you with anything…"
"Remember Raven?" The shapeshifter asked sternly.
Klarion sighed, averting his gaze to stare up at the sky with a dreamy look on his face. "Ah…the one that got away…" He smirked. "Yeah."
Garfield glared daggers at the warlock. Calm down. We need him.
The Witch Boy rolled his eyes at his intensity. "Jeez there's no need to shapeshift on me. I've accepted you won, okay?"
The Changeling relaxed his muscles. "Yeah well, she's in danger." He said seriously, feeling more than a little relieved at the worried frown that suddenly took over the warlock's face. "So if you ever did love her…"
"I did…in my own psycho way." Klarion pondered. "I kinda still do." He grinned when Garfield became aggravated again. "I mean, there aren't a lot of women like her."
"Well, she's too good for you." Don't let him get to you…
"Oh, I'm aware. But she's too good for you too."
Deathstroke and Teekl looked back and forth between them, with judgmental eyes.
"Well that may be true, but I've definitely done more to deserve her than you." So much for not letting him get to you...
Klarion opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He glanced at Teekl, who practically raised an eyebrow at him. "…okay, that's fair."
"What kind of danger is she in?" Deathstroke asked curiously, taking a step back when both boys immediately turned their necks to shoot him furious glares.
"None of your business, Slade." Garfield spat out menacingly.
"If you lay a finger on her…" Klarion threatened.
Deathstroke put his hands up in the air. "You misunderstand me, boys. I have no intention of betraying her. I know she always comes back. I only asked to offer assistance."
He had in fact asked in the hopes of learning her demise had come, which he would gladly celebrate from afar. Slade truthfully didn't plan on taking any part in attempts to bring her down. He wouldn't risk ending up back in the Phantom Zone. Leave that to someone else.
"Don't worry, nothing we can't fix with a little power boost." Garfield hissed angrily.
"Which they have now." Klarion announced, intensifying his glare before turning away from Slade and back to the Changeling. "Take me to her and tell me what you need."
Deathstroke nearly rolled his one good eye at them. As if she needed all this.
Garfield nodded at the warlock. "You're dismissed, Slade."
Once they were alone, the Changeling explained what was happening and what their plan was while he headed to the T-Car with Klarion and Teekl. Cyborg was waiting for them.
"Well, if you just take these handcuffs off me I can teleport us, you know?"
Garfield narrowed his eyes. "They come off when we get to the tower."
"What difference does it make? If I meant to escape, I'd escape from your tower too."
The shapeshifter stayed silent. The reality was he hoped seeing Raven in such bad shape would chase away any treacherous, resentful ideas from the warlock's mind and make sure he couldn't refuse helping her.
Teekl brushed against Garfield's leg and he couldn't help but smile a little at her. "I see you got someone to forgive you."
"Yeah." Klarion smiled at Teekl as well. "I don't deserve her either."
"True."
"I'll help, you know? I know I'm a bad person, but I had a lot of time to think and I regret trying to hurt her."
The Changeling glanced sideways. "How did it even start?" He asked curiously. "Your infatuation with her, I mean."
Klarion sighed. "It started the day I met her…"
And then he proceeded to tell the shapeshifter about the first time he'd run into Raven.
Flashback starts
Klarion turned around, consumed by anger, to get back at whoever had just ruined his plans. He'd been performing a ritual to greatly enhance his powers and was rudely interrupted by a blast of someone else's magic. Someone who could manipulate shadows and dark energy.
The warlock raised an eyebrow at his opponent, his wrath turning into interest. She looked a bit different from other humans in this pathetic dimension. "And who are you?"
That question caught her off guard. She frowned and lowered her hands slightly. "You're kidding, right?"
Klarion grinned charmingly. Of course she was someone important. There was something about her. "Entertain me. I'm relatively new to this dimension."
"The name's Raven."
Teekl moved closer to her, examining her carefully.
"Pretty name. But it doesn't explain how you stopped me."
She scoffed and stoically placed a hand on her hip. He didn't mean to attack her anymore. She could sense now he was just intrigued. Besides, his familiar was rubbing against her leg. "I'm Trigon's daughter."
"Trigon!?" The warlock gasped. Didn't see THAT coming. "As in, Trigon the Terrible?"
Raven rolled her eyes. "No, the other Trigon."
Klarion chuckled wickedly. "Right. So, you're the daughter, then. I have to say you're much cuter than I thought. His other children, are…well, repulsive." He smirked at her unfazed face. "I think we can help each other."
"We can't." Raven said pointedly, debating with herself on whether to take this warlock on or not. He was powerful and had this enormous cat with him and she was alone. Let's give him a warning. "I actually betrayed him."
"And he let you live?" Klarion frowned skeptically.
Annoyance rose into her chest. "He didn't let me do anything. I destroyed him." She glared at the warlock. "So you might want to get out of my city."
Flashback ends
"I was intrigued after that, so I asked around." Klarion said casually. "Teekl liked her too."
The familiar purred beside him in agreement.
Garfield repressed a smile. "Yeah, cats tend to like her."
"Anyway I thought we were perfect together." The Witch Boy elaborated. "But I wanted her to live in the dark with me. I see now she always wanted your light."
They spotted Cyborg and the T-Car.
"I'll help you save her, though." The warlock concluded.
The Changeling stopped walking for a moment and turned to him with narrowed eyes. "How much soul-searching did you do in prison?!"
Klarion laughed. "Very little. I resent you profoundly." He clarified. "It's just she was the closest I ever got to caring about someone. I mean, other than Teekl, of course."
The familiar practically beamed.
Garfield nodded slowly, analyzing him. I actually buy that. "Fine. If you betray us, I'll ki-"
"Kill me. Yes, yes, I know."
A few hours later, they were all ready to try casting the spell again. Klarion wasn't sure what he was expecting, but the sight shook him to his core when Cyborg came in carrying her in his arms and carefully placed her on the floor in the center of the circle of sorcerers. She was covered in sweat, whispering nonsense and writhing in pain, completely unaware of her surroundings as she was obviously hallucinating. Her eyes kept rolling back in her head and it looked like some gruesome possession scene.
Not to mention her body was covered in bruises and swollen veins, particularly over her – now quite large – abdomen. He shot the Changeling a serious glance and received an extremely worried look back. In fact, there was something new in Garfield's eyes. A strange vulnerability. They were pleading him for help. The other sorcerers kept having to contain the damage she was unknowingly causing through her powers, which is why they were doing this on the roof – less things to break or explode around.
"Let's get started." Zatanna said firmly.
Garfield flinched and forced himself to look away when her back arched and she screamed, because if he didn't, he would run to her and interrupt them, and that was the last thing she needed. He silently prayed to whoever could hear him. Please, don't let her die. Please don't take them from me. Please don't let him win. Don't let him take them and hurt her. I'll do anything. Just…PLEASE.
It lasted for about ten minutes, but it felt like an eternity to everyone. Gar still had his eyes closed and his neck turned after all the chanting and screaming ceased, not daring to look, because if he did and found out he lost them, he had no idea what he would do. His heart pounded loudly, his stomach turned in wrenching anticipation, his chest ached…
"Gar?"
All the pain instantly went away. It was her voice. The Changeling's eyes immediately filled with tears as he opened them. She was sitting up, still clearly tired and catching her breath, but obviously feeling much better. She was fully awake, her eyes weren't glazed, and she was smiling at him. Her body was slowly beginning to heal. His friends were all gathered around her, shooting him teary, emotional smiles.
"Well I'll be on my way." Klarion announced, disappearing in a foggy blast. He needed to escape before they remembered him and he didn't want to watch them kiss.
No one cared that much for once. There were frustrated sighs and grunts when he vanished, but no one averted their full attention to it. Gar and Raven certainly barely noticed. They were busy staring at each other with hopeful grins and watery eyes. As her skin cleared and her pain went away, he finally remembered to move and ran over to her, kneeling by her side and pulling her into a tight, desperate hug.
"Talk to me." He whispered in her ear. "Tell me you're okay."
"I'm okay." She whispered back, stroking his hair. "We're all okay. You saved us. Again."
A quiet, relieved sob escaped his lips and she pulled back to wipe his tears away.
"Thank you, love." Raven caressed his cheeks, smiling softly.
Garfield turned his head to place a passionate, grateful kiss on the palm of her right hand.
The empath glanced up at Zatanna and the Coven. "Thank you."
Her voice was dripping with sincerity. It was all over her eyes too.
"Yes, thank you." Garfield echoed, not removing his eyes from Raven.
Zatanna just grinned widely at them. It was a rather heartwarming sight. The shapeshifter was absolutely distracted by Raven, pushing her sweat-soaked hair away from her face, and rubbing her now healthy, pregnant belly. His eyes were shimmering with affection.
"Thanks for talking sense into me." Gar said lovingly. "You were right, it's our job to protect them."
Raven nodded, gently stroking his cheek again. "I usually am. But you were right first. Every time I can't see the light, you're there, just…ready to be my light. Thanks for giving me hope."
He grinned widely. "Anytime!"
Leave Out All The Rest (Linkin Park)
