Better Off Pt II

   Although she hated to admit it, Raven knew that in spite of Beastboys sarcasm, Robin was right. Dr. Light was afraid of her because he’d seen the full-blown force of her dark side against his will, and hadn’t been the same since. From that day forward, everytime they’d meet, he’d shutter to the sight of her. And today was no exception.
      Inwardly she took pleasure in seeing the petrified expression wash over his face from the unexpected sight of her arrival.  “What?! You? W-Where did you come from? And. . . How did you break through my dome?”
     Slowly folding her arms, Raven replied rather arrogantly,  “If no cell is fool proof enough for you, then what makes you think that this shield is fool proof enough for me?” She mocked as he scowled at her. “Don’t you ever learn?”    
      Although very uneasy by her presence, Dr. Light found himself a little more confident with all the power he possessed. Giving her an evil sneer he replied,
     “Well. . .You know the old saying. If at first you don’t succeed. . .”  Now a flash of lightening shot out of his glowing palms, heading directly for her. This caused her hands to instinctively fly up, encasing herself in a dome of dark energy just as the bolt bounced off. “Try. . .try again!!” He concluded.
     Although somewhat unnerved by the hard impact that the lightning bolt had left behind, Raven was determined to stay focused. Raising an eyebrow, she sarcastically asked,  “Well, that the best you can do?”
    Letting out an amused chuckled, Dr. Light sneered at her and replied, “Trust me. . .You haven’t seen anything yet!”
      
      As they continued to fight back and fourth, the other four had already made their way up to the rooftop. One by one they took turns trying to knock the antenna down. Between Starfires starbolts, and Cyborgs sonic blasts, it still wouldn’t budge from its steel support. Waving his hands in a wild manner, Beastboy loudly shouted,  “Give me room!”
      In a fit of desperation, he morphed into a giant T-Rex. Roaring loudly, his huge tail flew back, then went to swing forward.  Robin hollered, “Wait! Not too hard!”
But it was too late. His massive reptilian tail struck the transistor with all the power he could muster. Yet the only thing he accomplished was to bust the cement around it, sending blocks rubble flying over the edge. This immediately had him morphing back to normal, watching as it fell straight down toward Raven and Dr. Light. Knowing he messed up, he looked over the edge and muttered,  “Oh, Oh. . .”

     Within seconds Dr. Light found himself dodging the missiles. “Whoa!” he muttered, rather startled by the interruption. “Hey, what the. . .”  
    Gritting her teeth, Ravens gaze slowly shifted with his, to find Beastboy staring down at them from the rooftop. This caused his eyes to widen, then slowly shift on her with disgust. “So. . .That’s your little game! You were trying to stall me!”
    Eyes narrowing, Raven replied, “You catch on fast. . .” Her sarcasm actually had his blood boiling. For the first time, if only for a moment, Raven noticed that his apprehension with her had completely disappeared, turning more into disgust.  
    “Well, you know, girl. I’ve had just about had enough of you!” He hissed, glaring off to the side of her. Eyes brightly glowing, one of the many powerlines snapped from above, and fell to the ground. Like a snake, it began to slide toward Raven from behind. “It’s about time you learned to respect your elders!”  
       From the top of the tower, Robin caught sight of the wire as it continued to silently wriggle toward her from behind, crackling loudly as the power surged through it.  Cupping a hand over his mouth, he shouted,  “Raven. . .behind you!” Seeing the horror of what was about to unfold, Beastboy reacted sheerly out of protective instinct.
      Morphing into an eagle, he quickly swooped down toward her in a panic. Before Raven realized what was happening he’d already turned back into his human form, roughly pushing her out of the way just as the wire attempted to strike her on the back of the leg. Only it hit him dead in the center of his back.
     Eyes bulging, he let out a startled gasp, shuddering as the current quickly surged through his body. Becoming a dead weight, his legs buckled from underneath causing him to weakly drop to his knees. Letting out a low moan he fell flat on his face, tightly curling up into a fetal position, until he froze that way.
    “Beastboy!!!” Starfire frantically hollered from the top of the tower. Hearing the horror in Starfire’s voice caused Raven to snap out of her shocked state. Staring down at his limp body, her head slowly began to shake with disbelief over everything that had happened in a matter of seconds.
     This caused her furious gaze to the now apprehensive expression on Dr. Lights face. Suddenly, the fear had returned, and he knew he was in big trouble! By then it felt as though every nerve in her body were trembling with rage. But she still managed to keep it well contained, giving him a look of pure hatred.   
    “You know something? I’ve had enough of you, too!” In that instant her angry gaze shifted straight towards the massive antenna, and narrowed. “You want power? You got it!”
     Knowing what she was about to do, had Dr. Lights eyes widening with horror.   
    “No. . .No!” Eyes brightly glowing, she glared up at the transformer and shouted out.
    “Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!”  From her incantation a vast surge of dark energy flew up, surrounding it like a blackened claw. In that instant the darkened wave thrust at the transformer, causing it to explode into a shower of sparks. Snapping from the base of the foundation, it swiftly came crashing down. Letting out a startled yelp, Dr. Light tried to run but wasn’t fast enough. Before he knew what was happening, the transformer crashed down on top of him, pinning him to the ground!
    
      As the dust settled around her, Raven could feel her rage slowly diminish, turning more into dread when she turned back toward Beastboy, and noticed that he had never flinched, or moved from that spot since he’d fallen. This told her deep down that something about him wasn’t right. And apparently, she wasn’t the only one. By then, Cyborg began to approach him in a light hearted, yet wary manner.
    “Yo Wake up, dude. . .The party’s over. . .” Gradually he drew a little closer, and froze, stunned to find that the back of Beastboy shirt had a charred hole that was burned to the skin. This caused him to nervously swallow down a lump in his throat.
     “B? Can you hear me?” He said, nudging him just enough to see a pale lifeless expression. “Oh, no. . .” Cyborg muttered, shaking his head with disbelief. “Yo, Robin! Get over here quick! He’s not breathing!”
      “What?!” Robin, and Star said at the same time. Eyes widening, Raven watched as the two of them ran toward Cyborg, and knelt by his side. Feeling the side of Beastboys neck, Robins breath quickly sucked in. “Oh, man, there’s no pulse!”
      For a minute, Raven felt as though she was glued to that spot, too numb to move. As he flipped Beastboy flat on his back, Starfire choked out.  
“You mean he’s. . .”
       “No. . .Not yet.” He stammered in a determined, yet frightened voice. “There’s still time. . .”  Without further delay, he began to do chest compressions. One after the other. Bending down next to him, Robin hesitated only for a second, then gave him two quick breaths. Reaching forward, he once again clasped the side of Beastboys neck and shook his head.  “Nothing. . .” Feeling her stomach turn to ice, Raven saw the horrified expression wash over Cyborgs face, and tears gleam in Stars eyes. “No. . .no. . .” She choked out, as Robin began to do the chest compression’s again.  
    By then, seeing this was more than Raven could bear. Turning away, she listened as Robin counted the 15 compressions, again followed by the sound of him blowing air into his lungs. “Come on, man. Come on!” Cyborgs voice desperately echoed.
    By then her hands raised up, slowly pulling the hood down. Tightly closing her eyes, Raven’s mind began to uncontrollably flood with thoughts of that horrible argument between them. “Do me a favor. . .Why don’t you disappear!”
“Yeah. You’d probably be better off, if I vanished for good, huh?”  
   “Try exhilarated!”
   “Fine!!”
      By then she was so consumed with deep regret, that her chest grew heavy from the burden, and a lump came in her throat.  Just when she could stand it no longer, Robin’s voice shouted, “I’ve got a pulse! I’ve got a pulse!” Causing her eyes to instinctively fly open. Still not wanting to turn around, she tearfully gazed ahead, listening as they continued to revive him. “Dude. . .Dude can you hear me?” Cyborg desperately asked.  “Say something. . .anything. . .”
   “Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh. . . .” The sound of his feeble moan, caused Raven to breathe out a heavy sigh of relief. Feeling like Jell-O, she slowly turned around to see that Beastboy began to fully come to, but still seemed to be in serious condition. By then a fire truck, several ambulances, and at least a dozen squad cars arrived on the scene.
    “Ohhh. . .man. My head hurts. . .” Beastboy moaned, weakly pressing a hand against his forehead.  Marveling at him, Cyborg blurted out,
    “Dude, look at his gloves! The tips have blown clean off, and his fingertips are black!” Nodding Robin replied,  “Well, the current had to come out somewhere. . .” Now they watched as Beastboy incoherently stared ahead, as though lost in thought.  “Umm. . .Why are my feet all tingly?” His question had them looking down at his feet, stunned to find that the soles of his sneakers were completely melted!
    Cyborg and Robin to gape at each other, then simultaneously reply.
     “Hospital. . .”
       “Right. . .” Robin replied, signaling the paramedics to their location.
     “Aww. . .man, I’m not that bad. . .” He weakly protested, “I was only out for a
few minutes.”
     “A few minutes? Dude. . .you almost checked out permanently. . .”
    “What?” he slurred, in a cracked voice. “No way. . .”
      Unable to bear it, Raven couldn’t make herself go with them. Just as she was about to turn away, she felt a hand gently clasp her shoulder. There she found herself looking back at the concerned expression on Starfire’s face. “Raven. . .Are you Ok?” Although she tried to disguise it, Starfire could see the hurt expression on Raven’s face.
   “Sure. . .I’m fine.”
      Giving her a gentle smile, Starfire softly replied, “Do not worry, friend.  He’s going to be alright, now.”
   Trying to keep her serious composer, she nodded,  “I know. . .I just need to be alone for awhile. I’ll meet you at the hospital. . .”
    “I understand. . .But would you mind taking this with you?” Now Raven found herself staring down at Beastboys blackened belt. Getting a knot in the pit of her stomach, Raven gave Starfire a feeble nod.
    “Sure. . .”
    
    By then the paramedics split up, some going to Beastboy, while the others ran toward Dr. Light who was actually beginning to regain consciousness.
     “Ohhhhhh. . .” he moaned, trying to move. “I feel terrible. . .”
   Completely amazed by what they saw, one of the paramedics looked at the Police Chief and replied, “This is amazing. Under all that weight, he should be dead. . .”
     “Yeah, I know. . .But for once that suit of his actually came in handy! It protected him like armor. . .”
      Overhearing this, Raven shook her head, watching as he weakly gaped at her from underneath the massive antenna, and hollered out. “Ahhh! Keep her away from me!  She’s a hazard! She’s a freak!”  
     Knowing her track record as one of the most powerful of the five Titans, the Chief decided to have a little fun. Raising an eyebrow, he cruelly teased.  
    “Aww come on, now. Don’t tell me you’re afraid of this quite, docile young lady.”    
    Fighting not to show her inner amusement, Raven watched as his mouth literally fell open. “Docile?!” he blurted. The girls a walking </i>menace</i>!” Looking from him to her, the Chief shook his head and said,  “Don’t worry, Light. After the stunt you just pulled, you’ll be lucky if you see this young lady again in your lifetime!”  
   Unable to help herself, Raven just couldn’t resist the urge to be cruel.
    “Not unless. . .I pay him a visit. . .”  Eyes widening, Dr. Light literally became hysterical. “No! No! Noooo!”  He slurred, desperately clawing at the dirt, trying to wriggle away from her. At the same time, the Chief looked down at Raven, watching as her arms folded with satisfaction. “What did you do to him, anyway?”
                                             
                                      At the hospital an hour later. . .
      “Dude. . .Do you remember anything that happened?” Cyborg asked to a now fully conscious Beastboy, who sat upright in a bed, dressed in a blue gown. Still in a somewhat of a daze, he slowly shook his head and muttered,
    “Uh. . .Some. . .I remember us fighting Dr. Light, and pushing Raven out of the way because he was going to zap her with a wire. . .And it got me instead, cause it felt like my back exploded.”
   “But that’s not all, dude. Raven got so mad that she flattened him with his own transistor.” Letting out a weak chuckle, Beastboy replied,
    “What? You’re kidding!”
   “No. If he hadn’t been wearing that suit, I don’t think he would’ve survived. But he did. And this time they’ve got him incarcerated in a high security prison. But after this last run in with Raven, I don’t think he’ll want to come out for a long time.” He said as the others chuckled. Shaking his head in a daze, Beastboy muttered,
   “Wow. . .I guess I was out for a while, huh?” Now he watched as the three looked from each other to him rather surprised.
   “Out? Dude. . .You took a hit of about 60,000 volts. You’re heart stopped beating, and you weren’t breathing.” Now his eyes slowly widened with the realization of what that meant. Swallowing hard, he replied, “You mean. . .I was. . .”
   “Yeah. For about five minutes. . .” Cyborg cut off as he marveled at him with shock.    
    “If Robin wouldn’t have resuscitated you, you probably wouldn’t be here. . .”       
    “Resuscit. . .what. . .” Beastboy muttered, mouth falling open with disbelief. “Ewwww!!! You mean he kissed me?!”  He loudly blurted, causing Robins cheeks to deeply flush.
    Completely mortified by his puerile response, he hissed,  “No!!! I did not kiss you! And don’t ever say that again, or I’ll kill you myself!” he snapped as chuckles were heard from the other two. “I did what I had to do to save your life, because I owed you one.” He said as a touched expression crossed over Beastboy's face. “I know I don’t say it often. But you are an important part of this team, and don’t ever forget that. . .”
    Touched by the sincerity of whom he considered his best friend, Beastboy warmly smiled at him. “Thanks dude. . .for everything. . .” Gripping him by the hand, Robin shook it and replied. “No problem. . .”
     Now Robin noticed the surprised, yet troubled look cross over his face. This had him turning, rather surprised to find Raven standing in the doorway. For Beastboy, just the sight of her put butterflies in his stomach. For all he could think about was that nasty argument they had, and all that ensued between them. And by the troubled look in Ravens eyes, Robin knew she had a lot on her mind too. Especially with all that had happened during the past two hours.
   “Hey, Raven. . .” he warily replied, as she walked inside.
    “Hi. . .” she muttered in a low voice.
    “Hey, girl. . .” Cyborg replied, trying to lighten the mood. “For a minute. We thought you got lost.”
   “No. . .I um. . .had to make a few stops along the way. . .” Noticing the bag in her hand,  Cyborg playfully replied, “You didn’t bring any food in that bag, did ya? I’m starving.”
    “Come to think of it, so am I. . .” Robin replied, noticing how Raven and Beastboy quietly glanced toward each other, but didn’t say anything. Inside he knew that after everything they went through, they needed time alone to talk. And this would be the perfect excuse. “Say Raven. Would you mind staying with Beastboy while we get a bite to eat?” Knowing Robins motives, an eyebrow raised and she replied.
   “I suppose. . .”
   “Great. . ." Looking toward Beastboy he asked, "Do you want us to get you anything?”
   “Nah, I’m not really hungry. But if you’re going to the mall. . .could pick me up a chocolate shake?”
    “Will do. . .” Robin replied, as they headed for the door.
    “Oh, and make sure it’s non dairy. . .” He specified, as Cyborg rolled his eyes.
   “Yes, believe me. . .I know. . .”

    Now they were finally alone, and after some hesitancy, Raven knew they had to get this conversation started somehow. Gradually taking the chair next to him, she asked.  “So. . .how are you feeling?” Giving her a timid shrug he replied,
    “Well. . . my back is pretty blistered, but at least my hands aren’t numb anymore.  The doctor said the black fingertips are actually scorched, and should heal up in a couple of weeks.” Letting out a light hearted chuckle, he added, “Even my toes are black. . .Can you believe that?”
     “Yes. . .” she stated, as he went to slightly pull back on the end of the covers. “And no, I don’t want to see them!”
Seeing that he’d embarrassed her, he decided to quickly change the subject.
     “Oh. Ok. . . .Soooo. . .what’s in the bag.” Leering at him a bit, Raven mocked,
      “A straight jacket. . .”
     “Aww come on. . .” he chuckled. “That’s not what it is. . .”
     “Don’t be so sure. . .” she insisted, as he quickly took the bag from her and opened it.    
    Eyes widening, his breath sucked in from delight. “Awww, wow!!! It’s the entire Mega-man comic collection! I. . .I don’t believe it!” he exclaimed, suddenly realizing the extent of what she done. . .and remembering what happened prior to that. This caused his gaze to turn very serious. “Hey, Raven. You didn’t have to go through all this trouble.  I know this must’ve cost you a fortune.”
      He watched as Raven looked away from him rather awkwardly.
    “It doesn’t matter.  What you done for me was priceless.” Now her soft gaze met his surprised one, and she replied, “ . . .and I wanted to thank you for that. . .As well as everything you done for the team.” She whispered, as a touched expression crossed over his face. “You basically saved us all from annihilation. And nobody took the time to show their gratitude. Including me, and I was wrong.”   
    Completely overwhelmed, he shook his head and muttered,  
    “Hey. . .Look, Raven. I was too. I mean. . .you were right all along. I’m horrible with money. . .and I have no self control.  I shouldn’t have thrown that in your face. I was just mad, that’s all.”
    “Well. . .so was I.”   Sighing, she looked away and added, “But. . .this was the
worst fight we’ve ever had. And. . . when I said I wanted you to disappear, I didn’t mean from existence.” Stunned by that statement, Beastboy’s eyes widened.  “Oh, come on, Raven. I knew that!”
    “But. . .I feel responsible for what happened to you. . .” She persisted.
   “How? I kept you from getting electrocuted. So how does that make you responsible?”
    “Because I didn’t see it coming.” She replied, frustration welling in her voice.
“I was so angry, that I let it impair my senses, and my judgment. And because of that, you almost. . .I mean you actually. . .”
     “Raven. . .” he gently cut off. “It was an accident. . .Plain and simple. It could’ve happened to any of us. But. . .I’m glad it happened to me, and not you. . .” Overwhelmed by the kind sincerity of his words, Raven could feel her emotions getting the best of her.    
    Looking away from him, tears uncontrollably began to fill her eyes. Head shaking, she whispered,  “Please, don’t say that. . .” In a cracked voice. Moved by her rare show of emotion, Beastboy softly asked,
     “Why not? Wouldn’t you have done the same thing for me?” Trying to compose herself, she roughly cleared her throat and whispered,
    “Of course. . .But that’s not the point. I was still out of line. . .”
   “We both were, Raven. But I got a news flash for you. Friends argue. . .” Beastboy said as she looked away. “But. . .best friends fight.” He firmly clarified. This slowly had Raven looking up to the shy smile on his face. Giving him an uncertain glance, she raised an eyebrow and shyly asked.
   “You really think that?”
     “Sure. . .  I mean. We might bicker alot. But. . .I’ve been around you long enough. . .to know how you really feel. . .” Although upset, Raven felt herself growing somewhat embarrassed by his assumption.
    “Oh, really?” She asked, raising an eyebrow rather defensively.
        “After all that’s happened. . .Are you going to deny it?”
      Although she hadn’t really given it much thought, it wasn’t until this very moment that she realized he was actually right.  Letting out a heavy sigh she shyly answered,  “No. . .I guess not. . .” Out the corner of her eye, Raven could see a huge grin cross over his face, which only made her feel more awkward. This had her head cocking rather defensively. “But. . .Is there a point?”
      “Yes. . . My point is that no matter how much we argue, we’re always there for each other. And that’s what really counts. Right?” Gaze softening, Raven knew he had her pegged, causing her to finally nod with surrender.
    “Yeah. . .” She whispered, watching as he boldly reached for her hand. As he gently squeezed it, Raven could feel him tugging on her arm. Knowing what he wanted had her staring at him rather hesitantly. Then she found herself gradually giving in, until he was hugging her tight.  Although very awkward to be this close to him, Raven was also relieved. For inside she knew that this chance never would’ve been possible, if he’d have died. It caused her to inhale deeply, appreciating the warmth of his embrace.
      “I’m sorry. . .” she timidly found herself whispering. Overwhelmed in the moment, Beastboy tightly closed his eyes.
      “Me too, Raven. . .Me too. . .” He softly replied, now squeezing her so tight that she could barely breath. Beginning to tense up from so much affection, Raven’s throat nervously cleared, “Umm. . .You can let go, now.” Her muffled voice trailed off into his shoulder. Realizing how carried away he got, Beastboy quickly let go, to find that her cheeks had flushed red.
    “Heh-heh. . .Sorry. . .” He bashfully chuckled, watching as she actually cracked a smile. Eyes narrowing, she replied, “Now. . .I want you to do me two favors. . .”
   “What?”
    “One. . .Get better. . .Because I don’t like hospitals. . .” Snickering he nodded.
   “Ok. . .And two?” Gradually, her smile disappeared as she now looked upon him with such a solemn gaze. Slowly shaking her head, Raven whispered.
    “Don’t ever do this again. . .” Staring at her so tenderly, Beastboy smiled and nodded.
   “Believe me, Raven. . .I don’t plan on it. . .”

                                            Several weeks later. . .
     For Raven, it almost seemed like history was doomed to repeat itself.  Peeking over a magazine, she watched as Beastboy once again continued to overstock on junk food. Only this time, he had his own cart to load up, and not hers!
     Shaking her head, she raised an eyebrow and muttered, “Hopeless cause. . .”
By then Robin and Star approached them and said. “You guys about ready?”
Overhearing Robin, Beastboy threw one last pack of candy in the cart and quickly zipped up to them.  “Ready when you are. . .”
    Still reading the magazine, Raven is knew she didn’t have enough with her budget to pay for it. So she set it back down on the rack. Just as fast, Beastboy snatched it up and threw it with his stuff. Rather surprised by this, she asked,
    “What are you doing?”
  Giving her a playful look he replied, “It’s on me. . .” He bragged, raising up a wad of money for her to see. Although touched by the sincerity of his gesture, Raven just couldn't resist it.  Giving him a mocking glance, she raised an eyebrow and replied.  “Oh, really? Then while you’re at it. . .pay for this one too. . .”


        Yes. . .It was so nice to have things back to normal. . .That is. . .Until another event would unfold sooner than they could possibly imagine. . .but that is another story.