Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Uh, Star…”

Gar stopped in his tracks, eyes snagging on the strangely shaped, lumpy ring of reddish-brown goop that had been placed carefully amid the plates of food on the counter.

“Not to be rude or anything…but…what the actual fuck is that?”

Kori twisted around in midair, looking down at him from her position hovering near the top of the bright window. “Oh!” she broke into a radiant grin, the sunlight glowing off her tanned skin. “It is a traditional Tamaranean crown of blessing to mark one's passage into their next solar cycle.”

“Uh-huh…” Gar leaned in towards the thing, nostrils flaring tentatively, then recoiled with a grimace, bile rising in his throat. “And why is it made of—um—very strongly smelling raw meat?”

Kori's smile fell, her light fading, and the balloon-festooned pink garland in her hands drooped. “Do you…not think Raven will like it?”

“Of course she'll like it!” Vic said cheerfully from across the counter. “Who wouldn't like a crown made of meat!?”

Kori perked back up instantly, the sarcasm flying completely over her head, then went back to pinning the end of the garland in place above the window.

“Uh—the animals that used to be that meat?” Gar muttered.

“Shhh—” Vic gave him a stern look, voice lowered so Kori wouldn't hear. “Girl worked all morning on it, let her enjoy her weird solar-whatever-meat-hat-thing.”

Gar rolled his eyes.

He dumped his armful of chip bags onto the counter as Dick followed him down into the kitchen from the elevator, carrying the rest of the shopping bags and a stack of pizza boxes.

They unloaded everything onto the available counter-space, Dick and Victor both very carefully ignoring each other on either side of the island.

Gar glanced between them, then started collecting the tubs of ice cream, piling them up into his arms, his limbs stretching past the bounds of human proportions to hold them all as he carried them over to the freezer.

“Looks great, Star!” Dick called.

She grinned at him, lavender dress fluttering around her as she floated back down.

“Remind me how exactly this is supposed to work again,” Terra grumbled, passing another clump of yellow balloons up to the alien, a very put-out expression on her face. “Throwing a surprise party for a kind-of mind-reader that knows where we all are all the time and what we're doing—”

“That's why we're doing it now.”

Gar's voice emanated out from the freezer as he tried to jam the ice cream cartons in place, his green head half stuck inside. “Cause Rae always meditates in the afternoon, and while she's in one of her spell-circle things she won't be able to sense anything from the rest of us. Then when she comes down to make her tea—surprise!”

Victor and Dick traded an amused glance out of habit, then looked away quickly, both of them frowning.

Gar turned back around and stopped as the stares of everyone else in the room settled on him. He flushed a dark green. “At least…that's the plan…”

“An excellent plan really,” Vic added darkly.

Dick shot him a look as the girls giggled from over at the TV.

Terra smirked, passing another clump of balloons up to Koriand'r, her worn flannel shirt hanging off her slim shoulders. “I think it's cute,” she said sweetly, batting her eyelashes at Gar. “He's like her little puppy.”

Vic let out a snort of laughter, and Gar's cheeks and neck darkened further.

“Oh, shut up.” He frowned at all of them. “I just—wanted to do something nice for her.”

Vic shook his head slowly, smiling down at him, trying to contain his laughter. “Yeah, well, I set up a motion sensor outside her door, so we'll get a heads-up when she comes out.” He glanced down at the screen embedded into his prosthetic arm, the sleeves of his gray sweatshirt ripped off at the shoulders to allow him easy access. “We should have another couple of minutes to get everything set up.”

Dick took in the room, looking around at the decorations that had been put up—the colorful streamers and balloons framing the window and the massive 'Happy Birthday' banner hanging beneath—and he had to fight back a grimace. 

“Gar,” he said quietly, trying to keep his voice from carrying over to the girls. “Are you sure a surprise party is such a good idea—”

“Uh, it's Raven,” Victor drawled loudly, cutting in before Gar could respond. He raised one eyebrow at Dick, his voice twisting into a mocking tone. “You know, our resident party girl? Why don't you go tell her we're throwing her a party, I'm sure she'll come right down!”

Dick frowned back at him. “Point taken.”

Vic huffed out a breath, rolling his eyes as he turned back to the massive tower of pink and blue and green icing in front of him. The last few layers at the top sat slightly lopsided, making it tilt precariously to one side, and he reached up to stick the last candle into place.

“Okay—” he raised his voice proudly, waving his arms with a flourish at the cake— “the super birthday cake is officially completed!”

Gar eyed the monstrosity of cake. “Yeah,” he said critically, his lips pursing, “but is there enough pink on it?”

Vic pointed the piping bag of pink frosting at him threateningly, his cybernetic eye narrowing in. “Like I'm taking decorating advice from a walking disco brussel sprout.”

“It's not my fault you have no sense of style,” Gar sniffed, tugging proudly on the garishly patterned hawaiian shirt hanging off his shoulders, the fabric covered in abstract shapes of every color imaginable in a riotous pattern.

His eyes fell on the pile of items left on the counter, and he grinned. He snatched out a stack of paper party hats, and popped a brightly striped yellow and purple cone onto his mess of green hair, snapping the string into place under his chin. “See? Fabulous.”

“Uh-huh.”

Gar's grin sharpened. “Oh, don't worry—” He scampered around the counter before Victor could react, moving behind his back and stretching up to hook another party hat onto Vic's head. “There's one for you too—”

“Hey—”

Victor tried to elbow him off, but Gar ducked easily beneath the swing, reaching out to swipe a finger through a thick swirl of icing on the side of the cake. 

“You little bastard, fuck off!”

Vic swatted at him with the piping bag, and bright pink goo squirted out across the cabinets. Gar danced away with an evil cackle, pink splattering on his cheek and shirt collar, blending in perfectly with the pattern on the fabric.

He wiped it off his skin, licking the frosting off his fingers. “Too slow Tin-man! Mmm—tastes good though—”

Gar lunged at Dick next, another hat in his hand, but Dick twisted, stepping sideways, and snatched it neatly out of the boy's hand as he shot past.

Victor yanked the hat off his head, the pink and blue paper crumpling in his fist, and chucked it at Gar.

He ducked the throw, then popped back up, sticking his tongue out, and scampered off with another laugh before Vic could take another shot at him, joining the girl's decoration efforts under the window.

Vic spun the cake around carefully to inspect the damage, grumbling darkly to himself at the smeared line of pink.

Dick stood silently on the other side of the counter, Victor studiously ignoring him. He set the green and orange paper hat down, watching, his mouth pressing tighter and tighter together, the silence thickening between them. Finally, he broke the tension.

“Vic—we need to talk.”

“Oh, now you want to talk?” The other boy didn't even look up, his eyes fixed on the side of the cake as he tried to carefully re-pipe the icing.

“What does that mean?”

Victor finally looked up to glare at him, the red light of his cybernetic eye flaring brightly. “It means that you've been doing a great job of holing up in your room and pouting the last couple of days—”

“I was working.”

“Yeah, well, so was I,” he snapped, narrowing his eyes. “And I've been helping BB and the girls with this. So go ahead, talk.” He turned back to the cake in clear dismissal.

Dick sighed. He looked down, bracing his hands on the edge of the counter, chewing on the inside of his lip.

“You were right,” he said softly. “I shouldn't have said that stuff to Gar.”

Victor snapped his head up in surprise, then his eyes narrowed again, waiting. “And?”

“And?”

Vic scowled at him. “Yes, 'and'.”

He let out a huff of breath at Dick's silence, setting the piping bag down on the counter and crossing his arms heavily over his chest, uneven gaze boring across the kitchen.

“You know, ever since we met, you've made it your business to know everything about how all our messed up shit works.” He gestured roughly at his own body before recrossing his arms, the bright lights in the kitchen reflecting off the shiny metal plates forming his limbs from the biceps down, the silver a stark contrast to his dark skin. “But the minute I want to know more about your little toys—yeah yeah, I know—” he rolled his eyes as Dick's mouth pressed into a thin line— “not toys, whatever—you throw up a wall. When you had me design that voice-command system, you didn't even want to tell me what it was for.”

Vic pressed both hands flat against the countertop, shoulders hunching angrily. “I don't even know what else you have in that belt because you're so paranoid about keeping all your little bat-secrets safe.” He leveled a dark stare at Dick. “That's not fair. And it's dangerous. If Gar had known what that explosive was, he never would have messed with it, you know that.”

“I know.” Dick sighed again, looking down.

Victor's eyes flashed. “Do you not trust us? Is that the problem?”

“Of course I trust you—it's not—”

“Really?” Vic crossed his arms again, frowning. “Cause you sure don't act like it. You're asking us to trust you with everything we are, and you're still keeping secrets—just like every other hero I've known.”

He shook his head in disgust. “I thought you were going to be better than that. And there's really no point in being here if you're just going to treat us like we're less than you—like we're your sidekicks—”

“You're not my sidekicks,” Dick said sharply. “We're a team.”

“Are we?”

They glared at each other.

Then Dick let out a heavy breath. He shook his head, his eyes dropping back to the counter, running a hand through the messy black spikes of his hair. “I trust you, it's not… It's just—I've never been…apart of a team like this. A real team.”

Vic's metal eyebrow clicked upwards.

“It's always just been me and Bruce,” Dick said. His voice got softer, bitterness creeping in, his face darkening. “And he isn't the best at…well, at communicating in general. I always had to poke and prod and snoop to get any bit of information out of him, and even then, his gadgets were completely off limits until he felt like I had earned them. And they…they mean a lot to me.”

He looked up to meet Victor's mismatched eyes steadily across the counter. “And they aren't just my secrets to share, you know that, but… you're right. It's not fair, and I should've trusted you with them. You guys need to know what kind of weapons and tools I have—just like I know your powers. I'm just so used to…”

He sighed again, shoulders slumping. “I've only ever been a sidekick. And I guess, in trying to be the leader, I…”

“Turned into a dick?”

Dick glared up at him, but caught the small upwards twist at the corner of the other boy's wide mouth. He relaxed, letting out a breath, and smiled ruefully back. “Yeah, I did didn’t I?”

“Well, just a little one…”

“Wow, thanks.”

Vic smirked at him.

Dick chuckled despite himself, then shook his head, his expression sobering again.

His fingers clenched against the edge of the countertop, and his eyes dropped down to the dark stone.

“I'm trying Vic, but I don't—it's not like there's a manual for this stuff.”

Vic watched him silently for a moment, then he turned back to the cake, picking up the piping bag again with a snort.

Dick looked up sharply, his shoulders tensing.

“Well, your first mistake was thinking you had to do it alone.”

Dick blinked.

“You may be the leader,” Vic explained slowly, emphasizing every word as if speaking to a particularly dense toddler, “but we're a team. And that means that it's not just one person in charge telling everyone else what to do—it's all of us, working together.”

He leaned forward over the counter, meeting Dick's eyes squarely. “Let us help you lead.”

An answering smile slowly stretched across Dick's face.

His blue eyes brightened, the tension falling away. “That sounds…like a really good idea.”

Vic rolled his eyes. “Try to hide the shock in your voice, would you?” He scratched at the line on his scalp where his short layer of hair met the metal plate over half of his skull, and let out a heavy breath. “Look, I know I don't have the same amount of experience as you do, and I know this whole thing is your project, but…I can help—”

“You're officially second in command.”

Vic looked up in surprise, at the arm Dick extended to him across the counter, his hand held out.

His mouth cracked upwards in a grin, his eyes flashing, and he reached out and took Dick's offered hand with a firm grip, his metal fingers dwarfing the other boy's as they shook.

“But I'll warn you, being in charge kind of sucks.”

Vic smirked back, his eyes narrowing. “Yeah, but you're still the boss, so it's your ass on the line when Gar really does blow something up.”

“Oh joy,” Dick rolled his eyes with a groan, but smiled. “So, we're cool?”

“Frosty.”

“Good, you have done the apologizing.” Kori dropped down by the edge of the counter, making both of them turn in surprise, and she gave them each a stern look.

They both smiled back sheepishly.

She shook her head in exasperation, one of Gar's party hats crowning her flaming curls, then smiled. “Now, Garfield says this strange, paper-covered creation must be filled with candy, and then I am to hang it…?”

She held out a bright green mass of ruffled paper shaped like some sort of cartoonish horse, complete with purple saddle blanket and tiny, matching sombrero, looking down at the thing in confusion as Gar and Terra followed her over from the other side of the room

“Seriously? You got her a pinata?”

“Yeah!” Gar shot back indignantly, “they're like the best part of birthday parties!”

“Maybe if you're five.” Vic rolled his eyes, then grinned evilly at Dick, moving around the counter to take the green llama from Star and holding it up with a little shake. “But did you happen to notice the color? She won't be able to resist.”

They both looked over at Gar in unison, smirking.

He frowned at the pinata, head tilting to the side. Then the pieces clicked in his head. “Hey, that's—ugh,” he groaned, furiously trying to keep the blush from spreading across his cheeks.

Victor laughed, shaking his head in exasperation. “Good lord, the two of you are ridiculous. Can you just make out or something already so the rest of us don't have to deal with this anymore?”

Gar flushed a bright shade of green, his eyes shooting open wide with a squeak of alarm. “What—”

“Make out?” Kori asked. “Make out with what?”

“With Rae,” Victor drawled, smile widening as Garfield blushed even deeper. “Make out, kiss, stick his tongue down her throat, you know, like what you did to Boy-Wonder that night we met.”

Kori blinked, looking to Dick as his cheeks turned bright pink, and Victor nudged him in the side with a metal elbow, grinning evilly. “You remember that, don't you Dickie?”

Dick cleared his throat, not meeting the alien's bright green eyes across the counter. “Yeah, well, I think that would be a spectacularly bad idea.”

“Oh, come on, have you seen the way she looks at the little beansprout?”

Gar's mouth dropped open. “I—what?” His eyes snapped back and forth between them in shock. “That's—um—I—”

Kori clapped a hand to her mouth, trying to suppress a surge of bright laughter, Terra watching the conversation with an amused grin, and Gar turned away hastily, rubbing the back of his neck, dark green spreading across every inch of exposed skin.

“I have to—um—” He snatched the pinata and scuttled away from the counter as fast as he could go.

Victor let out a cackle of laughter. “You forgot the candy!” he shouted, and lobbed the bag at Terra. She rolled her eyes as she caught it, following Gar back towards the window.

Dick groaned, rubbing a hand over his face as he shook his head. “She's gonna slaughter him.”

“Yeah, and we get front row seats!” Victor pushed off the counter, making to follow the other two.

Dick just shook his head again.

“Richard? A question…”

He turned to face Koriand'r beside him, the nervous tone in her quiet voice immediately commanding his full attention. Victor paused as well, looking back towards the kitchen.

“Star?”

She kept her eyes carefully fixed on the countertop, her long, tan fingers resting on the dark granite.

“This…making out…” she said cautiously, “the act of kissing?…It is...used purely for romantic purposes on this world?”

The boys traded a glance.

“…Yes…” Victor said slowly. He narrowed his eyes at her, walking back to the counter on her other side, Dick watching in trepidation. “Does that mean it's…more than that on your world?”

Kori bit her lip, still not looking up at either of them. “It is…the same, but…”

“But?”

She winced. “The act of language assimilation, that I…um…preformed when we met?”

She peeked up at the boys, then back down, both of them staring at her in apprehensive silence. “In my culture, it is, well…it is primarily a…a way to seal a contract of betrothal.”

Their mouths dropped open simultaneously.

“It is a practice from a time when many regions did not share the same language, and arranged marriages between disparate peoples were used as a common method of peace negotiations. The arranged pair would…kiss…upon meeting, and the gift of tongues would allow them to inherit each other's languages instantaneously. It became tradition…”

“I'm sorry, what?”

“You mean—” Dick looked at her in horror and swallowed, ignoring Victor. He pointed between the two of them weakly. “We're…”

“No!” Kori's cheeks turned vivid orange, her luminous blood rushing to the surface as she shook her head wildly, flaming curls bouncing. “It is not—I did not mean for it to be—but I did not know what else to do, and I did not know if your world placed the same significance on the ritual—”

“Um, no—we don't—”

“Oh this just keeps getting better and better!” Victor crowed, slapping his hand against the counter as he bellowed with laughter. “Wait till I tell Bat-Dad he's gonna have a daughter in law!”

“Don't you dare!”

“It does not mean anything!” Kori said desperately. “We were on this world, not mine, so your customs would take precedent, but I thought it unfair that you did not know…” She flushed even brighter, her cheeks glowing, heat spilling out from her as her hair and eyes flared with light.

“Can I plan the wedding? Can I?!”

“Wedding? What wedding?” Gar called from in front of the TV, eyes narrowed in suspicion as he and Terra looked over.

“They're engaged!” Vic pointed at Dick and Kori with one metal hand, still roaring with laughter. “Oh Dick, now you can be a real princess—”

“No we're not! Shut up.” Dick shoved the other boy away. “Go—stuff the pinata or something.”

Victor kept laughing, stumbling off towards the couch.

“I am sorry—” Kori twisted her hands nervously in front of her, not meeting his eyes. “I did not mean to cause embarrassment—”

A fresh wave of laughter from Gar and Terra exploded across the room and Dick shot Victor another nasty look. Then took a deep breath. “Star—it's okay—really.”

Neon green eyes peeked up at him from beneath dark lashes.

“You are not upset?”

“No—no.” He shook his head, running a hand through his hair, his cheeks heating traitorously. “We never would have been able to understand you if you hadn't—it's just—that's not what I was expecting…”

“It truly does not mean anything.”

“Good,” he said in relief. “I mean—uh—” he cleared his throat hastily— “not that I don't—um—I mean I do—I—” His eyes opened wide.

“You do?”

Kori watched him in rapt attention, her eyes brightening with every word.

A wave of heat burned across his face. “I mean, I…you're…” His eyes trailed over her, and he swallowed quickly. “It's just…marriage is, um…a big deal…” he trailed off lamely.

Victor flashed him a thumbs up from behind the alien's shoulders.

A brilliant grin stretched slowly across Kori's face.

Then she cast her eyes back down, looking up at him again through her lashes, her smile turning coy. “I believe on this world, the expression would be 'going too fast?'”

“Yes—” Dick breathed in relief.

“We must do the dating first.”

Dick nodded vigorously. Then blinked. “Wait—what?”

Something beeped loudly on the other side of the room.

They both turned towards the noise, everyone looking at Victor as a tiny blue light suddenly blinked to life on the computer panel on his arm.

His eyes went out of focus for a few seconds, the red light on the left dimming, then snapped back to full attention. “Kay—showtime!” he called, setting the pinata on the low coffee table. “Birthday girl's on the move!”

Kori let out a squeak of excitement and snatched the strangely shaped lump of meat she had made off of the counter, cradling the plate against her chest. She grabbed Dick's hand with a grin, pulling him with her towards the couch.

Gar raced over, a clump of balloons in his hands, Terra behind him, and they all ducked behind the cushions.

Victor followed them slowly around the couch, tapping at the screen on his arm, and the Tower responded, surging to life around them. The lights all turned off, and with a loud whir of mechanics a series of metal panels slid down smoothly from the ceiling to cover the huge wall of glass looking out over the bay, dropping the room into premature darkness.

He crouched down besides Terra, and all of them peeked up over the top of the cushions with baited breath, waiting.

The elevator doors slid open.

Raven stood under the lights, her head bowed, dark blue hood casting her face into impenetrable shadow, her arms wrapped around her middle.

Slowly, she straightened up. Her arms fell to hang limply down at her sides as she stepped forward, her movements heavy, listless, every step taking her full effort.

The doors closed behind her, and she drifted to a stop, standing in the middle of the raised walkway around the room, not registering the unusual darkness surrounding her.

Then she pulled in a deep breath, and slowly raised her hands out in front of her, staring down at her palms. Her face empty.

Dick frowned. His mouth opened, eyes fixed on her, head turning slightly to the side to whisper to Gar that something was wrong, that they shouldn't—

Raven's head snapped up.

The lights switched on as Victor punched a button on his arm, and the other four jumped up from behind the couch, Kori pulling Dick up with her in excitement.

“SURPRISE!”

Raven screamed.

She jumped back, eyes open wide in terror, darkness flaring wildly out around her. Razor sharp whips of shadow sliced deep into the walls and floor, the lights above her body exploding with bursts of glass. She slammed back into the wall behind her, shrinking down and clutching at it desperately, black flames encasing her hands and flickering up over her arms.

They all froze.

“Uh…Rae…?” Gar took a hesitant step forward, the clump of brightly colored balloons bobbing behind his head, their strings clutched in one green fist.

“It is merely us…” Kori shifted forwards as well, her face a mask of concern, the plate of meat held out before her like a peace offering. “Your friends...with warm wishes for the day of your birth…” She made to float up over the back of the couch, but Dick's hand closed tight on her arm, holding her in place.

She looked at him uncertainly.

“Raven?” Dick pitched his voice low, speaking softly, holding very still as he watched her.

Darkening purple eyes darted wildly around the room, her face icy white, chest heaving like a cornered animal beneath a pane of rippling darkness solidifying around her in a protective shield. She glanced over all of them, not really seeing them, then to the space behind them, then quickly to either side as if expecting monsters to jump out of the shadowy corners.

“Open the window,” Dick hissed.

Vic immediately complied, and the metal panels over the wall of glass receded back into the ceiling with the touch of a button, afternoon sunlight filling every corner of the room again with cheery light.

The violent shadows around her flared, her eyes darting once more around the room, then stilled, melting back in towards her.

“Raven…” Dick tried again.

Her eyes snapped to his.

The air shivered, vibrating with a faint energy that made every hair on his body stand on end, goosebumps rising on his skin as pitch-black eyes met his.

“Shit,” Vic whispered.

Raven clenched her hands into fists, trying desperately to keep them from trembling, her heart pounding in her chest as she forced herself to take deep, steadying breaths. Her face went eerily blank.

Dick and Victor traded a glance.

Gar forced himself into motion.

He climbed carefully up onto the couch, then hopped over the back, landing with a smile on his face, paper hat perched at a jaunty angle on his head. He ignored the sinister prickle on his skin, Raven's dark eyes piercing into him.

“Happy birthday!” he said cheerfully, but his voice fell flat, the energy humming through the air stretching tighter. “We wanted to do something…”

He faltered under her glare. He glanced quickly back over his shoulders, first to Victor, then to Dick, desperately looking for help.

They stood silently, staring at Raven.

Gar twisted back to face her, swallowing. He fixed the smile back in place, gesturing to the decorations filling the living room, the kitchen counter piled high with junk food, and held his handful of balloons out towards her. “And you said you don't like halloween, so we did a traditional birthday!”

Kori followed him forward, lifting herself effortlessly over the couch, beaming, her hair and eyes bursting into full radiance. “And I have assembled for you a Tamaranean Throk'nar,” she said proudly, proffering the gift in front of her. “The crown of meat!”

Gar eyed the thing in distaste, then took another step forward towards Raven, Dick and Victor and Terra quickly winding their way around either side of the couch to join him and Kori out front.

“And Chrome-Dome made you a cake and everything!” He pointed at the massive, slightly crooked tower of bright frosting displayed behind the food on the counter.

Icy silence met his words.

“…Rae?”

“How did you know it was my birthday?”

Her low voice cut through the room, rough and biting.

Their eyes all flicked to Dick, standing at the edge of the group.

He frowned back at them all before facing her again. “I didn't tell them,” he said quickly. “It was just something I put in your file when we met, I didn't think it was a big deal...”

Pitch-black eyes settled on him, and he could feel the betrayal in them, the pain.

“I'm sorry.” His voice faltered. “I hope this is okay—”

“No, it's not.” Raven peeled herself away from the wall, voice sharp as razor blades, her shadow seething and stretching out behind her, flaring out across the plaster. She shut her eyes, squeezing her fists as hard as she could, her nails biting into her skin.

The marks on her palms burned.

Screams echoed in her head.

“But—” Koriand'r's face fell, and she took another step forward, reaching out to Raven. “There will be music and the iced cream, and a strange game involving pins and the behind of a donkey!”

“I'm not interested,” Raven snapped.

Dick moved forward, holding out an arm sharply to the others to hold them back, eyes fixed on the girl at the top of the short flight of steps.

She backed away as he cautiously approached her, shaking her head, her shoulders trembling and eyes darting frantically around the room again. Shadows poured out from her in a menacing tide, rippling out across the floor, and he stopped as he reached the top of the steps, hands held up in a clear sign of surrender.

“Raven, what's wrong?” he asked softly, his voice too low to carry to the others. “We just thought…you didn't like the halloween theme, but—”

“You thought wrong,” she snapped. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself, panic bright in her eyes. “I don't want a party—any party—and I don't want to celebrate.”

His bright blue eyes narrowed, piercing right through her, seeing too much, his mind spinning fast.

He took another slow step forward.

“You've been inside my mind,” he said very softly. There was no upturn in voice at the end, no question. Just a quiet statement of fact.

She didn't bother to deny it, just kept her arms wrapped tight around herself, hands clenched in the dark blue fabric, eyes flicking back and forth between his.

He raised one hand, moving to place it gently on her shoulder. “Let me inside yours.”

“No—” She stepped quickly away from him before he could touch her, before his concern and alarm and sympathy could overwhelm her. Darkness snapped through the space between them, blocking his path.

“Raven—”

“No! just no—leave me alone!”

“Rae?”

Garfield bounded up the stairs behind Dick, disregarding the other boy's direction to stay put, heedless of the dark magic charging the air like electricity.

He ignored Dick's sharp gesture to back up.

Bright golden eyes glanced between them quickly in apprehension, then focused on Raven. “Come on Rae,” he tried to smile teasingly, to lighten the darkness swallowing up the room. “I know you hate fun, but it's your birthday! It's special—”

“NO!” she shouted.

The fearsome edge to her voice cracked, a pained, terrified cry breaking through, and a wave of frozen, palpable fear crackled through the air.

Darkness surged out of her, lashing out through the room.

The balloons in Gar's hand exploded with bangs like gunfire, the boy throwing his hands up over his head desperately, and the others all cringed back by the couch, ducking down as all the lights in the room flickered.

The bannerover the TV shredded into pieces as phantom claws dragged through it, bits of paper fluttering down in a mockery of confetti. The screen cracked, and the garland above it ripped free from its hangings, falling to the floor. Half the dishes on the counter exploded, shards of ceramics flying, chips and candy spilling out across the kitchen.

The top half of the cake Victor had so painstakingly decorated sheared off, smashing onto the counter in a mess of frosting and broken candles.

Raven bolted.

She turned on her heel, running headlong at the elevator doors. Darkness flowed up over the metal as she reached them, swirling in a vortex of energy across the surface, and she vanished into it, her body swallowed in an instant.

The shadows faded, swirling away into nothing, revealing the reflective surface of the doors again.

They slid open with a soft chime, the interior of the empty elevator car lit with cheery brilliance.

Gar straightened up, staring after her, his mouth hanging open.

“Maybe…” Vic said slowly, “maybe a surprise party wasn't the best idea…”

Chapter Text

“What…what just happened?” Terra's quiet question broke the silence.

Dick shook his head as the elevator doors slid shut again, the strange, unearthly energy fading out of the air.

Gar stood stunned beside him, their distorted reflections looking back at them from the reflective metal. A fist-full of strings hung from his hand, severed bits of pink and yellow plastic scattered all around him on the floor.

“I don't know,” Dick said quietly.

The other three joined them slowly at the top of the stairs, standing on the raised walkway ringing the room, shards of glass from the lights above crunching beneath every step.

“I thought you said the surprise of the party was meant to be enjoyable…” Kori hovered between them, still holding the strange lump of meat before her, her green eyes full of concern, their light dimmed.

“That…was not a normal reaction.”

“No.” Dick glanced up at Vic, understanding passing between them, and shook his head again. “No, it wasn't.”

“Something happened to her,” Gar whispered, and all eyes turned to him, staring unseeing at the doors, the stupid striped hat still perched on his head. “Something bad.”

The boys traded another look.

“Did she tell you?” Dick asked sharply. “Did you—”

Gar shook his head slowly.

“She has nightmares,” he said softly.

“My room is right across from hers, I can hear—” He swallowed, and finally turned to face the others, pointed ears drooping down. “I thought it was just normal—I mean we all have shit in our past we…” His eyes flicked to each member of their group. “I didn't know…”

He looked down, and let the strings from the shredded balloons fall from his hand, the ribbons crumpling onto the floor. “This was a horrible idea,” he whispered.

“She's been acting normal—” Vic said, glancing back at the elevator. “Well, normal for Rae, anyways…although—” He scratched at his half head of hair absently. “I guess she has been spending more time in her room than usual the last few days, I didn't really think about it…we were trying to get everything set up for the party…”

“And I was focusing on working with Terra.” Dick sighed.

Victor turned to Dick, his uneven eyes intense. “You had her birthday in that file of yours, there wasn't any clue that she would react like this about it?”

Dick just shook his head again silently.

“There had to have been something—”

“I could barely find any information on her past at all,” he said quietly. “Everyone thought her and her mom died ten years ago. They just…vanished. And there's no information from before they moved here, no birth certificate, no other family, nothing—it's like her mother didn't even exist before. And then they were just…gone…”

“So they were running from something…”

“…Or someone,” Dick added very quietly.

“We must remedy this at once!” Kori looked between him and Victor desperately. “We must dispel the grish'nik—the…the…” she shook her head, searching for the words to translate—“the haunting thoughts that we have set free. What can we do—”

“We give her space, Star.”

“But we must offer her comfort, she is upset! She could be weeping, or—”

Dick shook his head, placing his hand gently on Kori's arm. “You know Raven. She needs some time alone…If she…if she hasn't come down in a few hours then we'll go check on her, okay?”

Kori's shoulders fell, her feet dropping slowly back to the floor. “Very well.”

He turned around to face the mess of the living room, glass covering the carpet beneath his sneakers, deep gouges cutting into the walls as if some horrific monster had run its claws across them, the decorations all lying in tatters.

He sighed. “Let's get this cleaned up. It might be easier for her if none of this is here when she comes back.”

Kori nodded listlessly, and Vic looked back at the pile of cake sprayed across the counter, his shoulders slumping. “Yeah,” he said sadly, “okay.”

Terra patted him gently on the shoulder.

They all turned away, heading back down into the living room, but Gar didn't move, still standing in front of the doors, staring at the space where Raven had disappeared.

“Gar?” Terra looked back up at him questioningly.

He set his face, and took a step forward, towards the elevator. “I'm gonna go talk to her, make sure she's okay.”

“BB,” Victor said warningly, “I don't think that's a good idea—”

Garfield shook his head as he climbed into the elevator. He pulled the paper party hat off his head and jammed it into a back pocket. “This was my idea, I have to at least make sure she's—” His shoulders fell.

Vic shifted to move after him, metal arm raised as if to pull him back, but Dick's hand landed on his forearm.

“Let him go,” he murmured.

His eyes narrowed on the shifter as the doors dinged shut, and he looked back up into Vic's indignant face.

“You just said—”

“I know.”

Dick looked back at the doors.

“She won't talk to us…” he said softly, “but…she might talk to him.”

Raven burrowed deeper under her blankets, her knees drawn up to her chest, arms wrapped around her legs.

A numbing, chilling emptiness filled her whole body, every inch of her cold, no warmth reaching her at all. The soft ticking of the clock on her nightstand pierced into her with every chime, the seconds counting down in an unstoppable march.

She pulled in deep, even breaths, trying to block it out. In and out, just focusing on breathing. On nothing at all.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

A soft knock tapped against the door.

She squeezed herself tighter, her eyes shut tight in the dark.

The clock kept ticking.

“Rae?”

Gar's quiet voice cut through the stillness of her room, suddenly loud in the silence.

“Rae, if you're in there…I'm so sorry.”

He took a deep breath. “Please don't be mad at the others, at Dick. This whole stupid thing was my idea, they all tried to talk me out of it—well, except Star, she was pretty excited—but it's my fault, not theirs. Dick didn't even mean to tell us it was your birthday, Vic just kind of saw it in your file and it slipped out—and, well…we just…we wanted to do something nice for you…”

A soft thump sounded as he leaned forward to press his forehead against the door, the wood muffling his voice. “I mean, you've done all this amazing stuff for us, and I don't even think you realize…I never thought I would ever be able to go out in public again, and then you…”

He let out a heavy sigh.

“Rae?” he called softly.

She couldn't feel him through the spell placed around her, her senses cut off, but she could just see the look on his face, his ears drooping down, the joy-filled gold in his eyes dulling.

“I know you don't want to talk to us, but I just...I wanted to apologize. And to make sure you were okay…so…”

He let out another heavy, dejected breath, pulling back from her door.

And she felt suddenly so cold. So hopelessly, unbearably cold.

She moved without conscious thought, sliding out from under the blankets and pushing away from the bed, stumbling in socked feet across the floor, seeking the warmth she knew was waiting on the other side of that door.

The brilliant light that was Garfield.

And then her hand was on the doorknob, the spell holding it closed dissolving under her touch, and she pulled it open.

Gar stood in the hallway in his ridiculous shirt, his green skin vibrant under the lights, the front of his unruly hair sticking straight up over his forehead.

His wide eyes met her eyes in the doorway, the dark purple practically glowing like neon, glittering with tears, her pale skin red and puffy around the edges.

A small smile twisted across his face, nearly a grimace, his hands opening and closing into nervous fists at his sides.

“Um…trick-or-treat?” he offered weakly.

She stared out at him silently from the darkness.

And then she took a step forward.

She reached for him, and his arms opened, and it was the most natural thing in the world to fall into him, to wrap her arms around his shoulders as his closed around her, pulling her in and holding tight.

They both hung on.

Warmth slowly sunk into her skin, his glow banishing the creeping numbness inside of her, feeling returning inch by inch to her body.

Gar just held very still, letting her hold on as long as she needed.

Somewhere in the background, the clock kept ticking, but it faded with every breath, softer and softer, falling farther and farther away.

With a tiny exhale, Raven shifted back, her grip on him loosening.

Gar released his arms from around her, even though everything in him wanted to hold on, and she stepped back, tucking her hair behind her ears, her face turned down, resetting the normal barrier of distance between them.

His skin tingled faintly where he had touched her, like tiny strings had been attached to his body, pulling him towards her, and he had to fight the urge to step in closer.

“It's not your fault,” she murmured, still standing close enough for her soft voice to reach him.

“Well…it kind of is…” He grinned hesitantly, hazel eyes flicking back and forth between hers as she peeked back up. “I'm the doofus that thought a surprise party would be a good idea.”

A small, pained smile pulled up the corner of her mouth.

“You can talk to me,” he said softly. “If you want. You don't have to…but, I'm here…”

Honesty and concern and guilt rang through the words like a bell.

She sighed, shoulders rising and falling with a heavy breath, and the weak smile fell away. Her eyes dropped down to her hands.

“My birthday…”

Cold rushed back in, her eyes tracing the lines cutting across her palms. The blank, emotionless mask slid back into place.

“There's nothing to celebrate.”

Gar had to fight back a shudder at the emptiness of her voice.

The unnatural cold hovering around her leeched into his skin, pulling at something inside of him, an awful, empty despair gnawing through him.

He took a small step forward, and his eyes followed hers, flicking down to her hands.

She had been looking at them like that when she had come downstairs, staring at her empty palms like there was some horrible message scrawled across her skin—and now that he thought about it, he realized he had seen her doing it before, but the behavior had never really registered…

He leaned in, peering closer, trying to see what was holding her attention.

“Wait…” A confused frown twisted across his face. “What is—”

Raven looked up at him, then back down at her hands.

And with a horrible, twisting, sinking drop in her gut, she realized that the spell she always wore—that she was so careful with—was not in place…

Leaving her real skin completely visible.

Her power had cut through it downstairs, and she hadn't even realized…

“Are those scars?” Gar breathed.

She jerked back in alarm, trying to hide her hands, but Gar reached out and grabbed one wrist, holding it in place and tilting her palm upwards to face the light.

His eyes widened.

The sharp, curving symbol vanished before his eyes, the puckered scar replaced with perfectly unblemished skin in an instant as she hurriedly reactivated the glamour.

The deathly pale tone of her skin darkened, flushing with color again, the bright purple of her eyes dulling back to a more natural shade, the pitch-black, almost indigo tint to her hair lightening.

She yanked her hand back, and Gar let go, staring at her in shock.

She clutched her hands to her chest, nails biting into her skin as her fingers clenched into fists, the marks of the curse burned into her palms stretching tight.

Very slowly, Gar slipped a hand into the pocket of his jeans, and pulled out a small, shiny coin.

He held it on his palm in the space between them, staring down at it, then up at her, then back at the penny.

His mouth fell open.

“You’ve had an illusion spell on you the whole time, haven’t you?” he asked softly.

She flinched back, eyes wide with fear.

“That's why—that one time, on the spaceship—you looked so different…”

The air started to crackle dangerously through the hallway, darkness stretching out from her open doorway and swirling around her, spilling in a puddle across the floor.

"But why…" He moved towards her, reaching out, but she shied back, tucking tighter into herself. “Rae—it's okay, I don't care—none of us will care—” He hastily stuffed the coin back into his pocket and waved a hand in front of his face, trying to smile, to pull her back. “Hellooo—green—”

Then his face fell, his eyes fixing back on her hands. On the marks that looked as if they had been branded into her skin.

“What happened?” he asked in a horrified whisper. “Wait—did that happen on your birthday? Is that why…” His eyes flashed, the lights reflecting in an orange sheen off his irises, and he took a step forwards. The green skin on his arms twitched as his muscles flexed and shifted beneath the surface, his shoulders tensing, broadening wider, his entire demeanor suddenly threatening.

His voice darkened, a growl rumbling beneath his words, “Did someone—who did that to you—”

“No, they—it wasn't—” Shadows flared out around her as she shook her head desperately, trying to explain, feeling the anger—the protective instincts—blindly roar to life inside of him. “It was supposed to help me—”

A barbed, twisted wave of shame and pain lashed through her.

The strength of the emotions reverberated out through the air, energy hitting Gar nearly full-force, and he staggered back with a shocked gasp.

Phantom candlelight flickered on the edges of her vision, the hallway dropping into darkness, and suffocating heat started to build in the air around her, prickling against her skin.

“It was a spell to—to try to contain this…this thing inside of me—to keep everyone safe,” she gasped, unable to get in enough air to fill her lungs, the words coming out in a jumbled mess. “But it—it went wrong—so wrong—and I…I…I lost control.”

The darkness seethed faster and faster around her. “They tried to help me,” she choked out, “and now they're—they're—”

She wrapped her arms desperately around herself, trying to hold on, her voice cracking. “Everything I touch, I destroy—I try not to, but I can't stop it—My mom, Arella, all of—they're all gone…” She turned away, eyes squeezing closed, claws slicing through her. “All of Azarath is gone—and it's my fault—”

Strong, green arms wrapped around her.

She jumped, a sharp spike of energy lancing into Gar's chest, frigid cold and biting, but he held on.

“Breathe,” he said firmly.

She sucked in a tiny, choked-off sob, standing rigid in his arms.

Then she collapsed against him.

Her hands grabbed tight onto the fabric of his shirt, her face burying into his shoulder.

Stinging jolts of energy zapped up Gar's arms and neck, darkness dancing over his skin, but he ignored them, holding her as tight as he dared, trying to impart as much of a sense of comfort and safety in the gesture as he could.

He brought his hand up to the back of her head, holding her against him, fingers tangling in her short hair. The smell of her filled his nose, paper and herbs and lavender, and something else unquantifiable beneath—a faint, metallic, burning taste that crackled dangerously against his senses as her power charged the air.

“Don’t fight it,” he murmured.

His lips twitched upwards in a small, involuntary smile as he repeated the instructions she had given him back to her. “Don’t do anything, just be here. Focus on the room. The colors, the sounds, the textures...”

He hugged her tightly. “On me. Focus on me.”

His voice permeated through the screaming inside her head, a lifeline appearing in front of her through the flickering candlelight threatening to burn her alive. She concentrated on him, his arms tight around her, his chest a solid warmth in front of her, heartbeat thudding beneath her ear.

She pressed in closer, focusing on the sound.

The panic and fear ripping at her from every direction eased, the screams echoing through her memories fading, banished by that steady beat of life. The lines of pain etching into her body melted away, replaced by the solid, gentle pressure of his arms banded around her.

Breath by breath, her ragged breathing slowly evened out, her own heartbeat calming against his chest, matching the rhythm of his. Her shadows dissipated, folding back inside of her, the hallway lightening again.

“I’m so sorry,” he muttered into her hair. “I didn't mean to—we had no idea. We just wanted to throw you a party…”

“I know,” she mumbled, her voice muffled against his shoulder. “I never told you—any of you, there was no way you could have known.”

She pulled in a slow, shuddering breath.

“Rae, what happened?”

Her fingers tightened in the fabric of his shirt, face pressing into his collar.

“I happened,” she said quietly.

The empty, toneless words sent a chill skittering across his skin.

“If I hadn't been born, they would still be here. If I hadn't…”

“Hey—” Gar pulled back sharply, putting his hands on her shoulders and holding her out in front of him. “Don't say that.”

She just stood there, her face turned down, not meeting his eyes.

“I destroy everything I touch…everything…and it just keeps happening…”

“You do not destroy everything you touch.” Gar squeezed her shoulders, trying to make her look at him, but getting no reaction, “See? Look, not destroyed—”

“And I ruined everything you worked on…”

“So come back down,” he said firmly.

She stiffened. Her head snapped up, eyes latching onto his with a flicker of panic.

“Not for your birthday—” he added quickly, smiling, trying to draw her back. “We can skip that…but…maybe...just to hang out with your friends…”

He trailed off, attention flicking down to a point on her cheek, and his face went momentarily slack.

Then he let out a soft snort of laughter.

Raven's eyes shot open wide, the shadows flaring back to life around them, and he shook his head quickly, hands still gripping her shoulders, desperately biting back the laughter trying to bubble up out of him. “I'm sorry—I'm sorry! It's just—there's something…”

He tapped helplessly at the corner of his jaw.

She reached up immediately, and her fingers hit the smear of bright pink icing across her cheek.

“Sorry—” Gar tried to contain his laughter, his shoulders shaking as she stared down at the sticky goo on her fingertips. “Vic must have gotten some frosting on my shirt, and…um…”

He reached out to try to help her, and Raven smacked his hands away.

“You idiot—” She wiped at her skin furiously, her cheeks darkening.

The scowl on her face broke the last of his control, and he burst into a helpless fit of laughter, his full, goofy grin spreading across his face.

A surge of sparkling energy poured out into the air, shooting into her skin, making her magic flare wildly.

She stepped back, trying to extricate herself from his grip before she broke anything else, but he snagged her hand, refusing to let go.

“I mean it though,” he said quickly, still chuckling, eyes dancing with light, “come back downstairs with us.” He shrugged, smiling hopefully. “No party—don't worry—we can just eat a bunch of candy together on some crappy holiday…watch some cheesy horror movies.”

He squeezed her hand, and she relaxed slightly, no longer pulling away. The puckered ridges of the hidden mark on her palm scraped lightly against his skin.

“I know I’m not the brightest—”

One dark eyebrow arched sharply as Raven shot an incredulous look up at him, and he beamed, brilliant smile coming back on in full force.

“But, maybe…” he said carefully, his voice sobering again, “maybe the best way to get past what happened—those memories…is to make some new ones.”

He took a small step closer and bumped her shoulder gently with his, their connected hands held between them. “Because you may not want to celebrate your birthday…but we’re all pretty glad that you were born, Rae.”

She searched his eyes, sparkling light filling the hallway all around her, glowing to life within her chest.

Her eyes narrowed back. “You just want to eat the cake.”

“And the ice cream.”

A soft breath of a laugh escaped her as he nodded with exaggerated excitement, the warmth in her veins flaring brilliantly.

She dropped her eyes down to the carpet between them.

“Okay.”

“Really?”

She took a deep, steadying breath, and nodded weakly.

“Great!”

Gar bounced up on his toes, beaming. “Everyone's gonna be so excited!” He gave her a gentle tug forward before she could change her mind, pulling her down the hallway towards the elevators.

“Oooh—there's a new movie that just came out—” he turned around to walk backwards in front of her with a cheerful grin— “it's supposed to be like the scariest monster movie ever made, we can watch that! I bet it's horrible—you'll love it!”

She let him tow her along, not breaking that radiant connection, her mind sinking inwards as she forced her power back beneath her skin. His words washed over her, and she tried to focus on them, to not think of anything else.

He waggled his eyebrows, then perked up even brighter, canines showing as his smile sharpened. “Oh—and make sure you ask Dick about the wedding!”

“The wedding?” she asked weakly.

“Uh-huh.” His eyes flashed, and he let out a dark laugh. He reached the elevator and pressed his back against the opening as the doors slid opened, holding them in place for her to pass, then hopped in after her, still not letting go of her hand.

“Apparently that language trick Star did—you know, when she stuck her tongue down Boy- Wonder's throat after you stopped her from trying to kill us—” He blushed slightly and focused on the panel of buttons, trying to find the one for the main floor, purposefully not thinking about what had led to that discussion. “Yeah well, apparently that's like some ancient engagement ritual on her planet sooo…”

Shadows crawled across the metal beneath his hand, dark shapes dancing on the floor around them and stretching up the walls, the lights dimming.

Gar glanced sideways.

Raven faced the elevator doors, her face tight, skin paler than usual, eyes fixed on the little screen above them, watching the lit blue numbers counting down floor by floor as they dropped.

A ripple of tension emanated out of her, and Gar's chest constricted under its touch. He turned towards her, opening his mouth to tell her that they didn't have to do this—

Her fingers squeezed around his tightly.

He snapped his mouth closed, looking down at her hand in his, and a smile slowly stretched across his face. He squeezed gently back.

The elevator came to a stop, and she kept her eyes locked straight ahead. The doors slid open with a soft ding.

Dick, Kori, Vic, and Terra all stopped moving throughout the room, turning to stare up at the elevator, four sets of eyes landing on Raven in trepidation.

She slid her hand out of Gar's, the glow from his skin fading away, and with a deep breath, stepped out onto the main floor.

Dick walked forward from the kitchen counter, his eyes flicking up from where their hands had been connected, darting back and forth between hers.

Victor followed at a slower pace, the girls trailing behind him, hastily setting down their armfuls of scraps of paper from the tattered decorations. Kori hovered just behind his broad metal shoulders as he came to a stop beside Dick at the bottom of the steps, biting her nails, one hand resting on his back, Terra watching carefully at his side.

Raven gave them a timid smile, and the whole group relaxed.

“I'm sorry,” she said softly. “I shouldn't have…”

“Oh Raven, please forgive us!” Kori flitted up the stairs, touching down right in front of her, her radiant energy suffusing the air. She reached out and took Raven's hands gently in both of hers, a soft wave of heat rushing out of her skin. “We did not mean to cause you any distress, we simply wished to show our affection for you!”

“I know.” She smiled back at Kori, the expression as genuine as she could make it. “And I…I appreciate the gesture, I really do, you just…caught me off guard…”

“Yeah well, you can blame the green one for that,” Vic said as he marched up to join them on the walkway. He arched an eyebrow at Gar, who blushed, looking down at the floor as he rubbed the back of his neck. “He insisted on doing a surprise party.”

Raven sighed.

“And you listened to him?” she asked dryly. “Really Victor, I thought you knew better by now.”

Vic chuckled, his gaze snapping between her and Gar, a smile slowly spreading across his face.

“Might we…have the cake now, then?” Kori tapped her fingers together nervously. “We did not wish to partake without you…”

They all turned to look at the kitchen counter, at the remaining half of the cake still standing, the mess around it from the destroyed top layers nearly all cleaned.

Raven's face fell. “Vic—I—”

“Hey, it's okay,” he said forcefully, waving a hand to cut her off, “there's plenty left!” He grinned down at her, “we can even put the candles back on and—”

Gar shook his head sharply behind Raven's back.

“—Oooor not…” Victor corrected quickly, “just regular cake, that's fine too.”

She paled, her fingers clenching at her sides. “Okay,” she said weakly.

He reached a metal arm out to usher her towards the kitchen, but Gar side-stepped in front of her smoothly, looping his arm through Vic's instead.

“I'll help you—” he chirped, and redirected him, turning him around. His other arm snagged Kori around the waist before she could get to Raven either, and he tugged them both into his sides. He marched off towards the kitchen, forcing them to follow, and caught Terra between them as he walked straight at her, herding her along with them.

“Raven?”

She turned her head slightly to the side at the quiet question.

Dick walked around to stand in front of her, his focused concern piercing into her in a dozen needle-sharp pinpricks. “Are you…okay?”

Gar's lowered voice drifted back to them from the kitchen counter as he hurriedly gave instructions to the other three, all of them leaning in close to listen.

She nodded, not making eye contact with him, trying not to wince at the brutal gouges clawed into the walls and floor around her. “Yes…I'm sorry, I haven't been meditating well lately and this just…I'm sorry…”

Dick's eyes softened, and the sensation faded. “Don't worry about it, walls are easy to patch.”

He reached forward slowly, giving her the opportunity to pull away to avoid the contact, but she allowed it, letting him rest his hand gently on her shoulder as she looked up at him, her face blank. “I promised that I wouldn't push into your past if you didn't want to share,” he said softly, “but if there's anything you want to talk about…”

The look on her face gave him a clear answer.

She shifted back, breaking the connection, and Dick let out a heavy breath.

Then he met her eyes firmly, his attention focusing in again. “Is there anything we need to be aware of?” he asked in a low voice.

A dark pit yawned open inside of her chest, stealing her breath, all feeling sucked inside. Leaving her empty.

Soft, rhythmic ticking echoed in the back of her head. A clock counting down, second by second, marching steadily onwards.

Unstoppable.

Dick's eyes narrowed.

“Okay! Movie time!” Gar called cheerfully.

He popped up between her and Dick, and she stepped back, hiding her face, hands tangling in the dark blue fabric around her. Warm hands landed on her shoulders and gently steered her down towards the couch, and she focused only on them, forcing everything else as far away as she could.

Dick frowned at him, and Gar frowned right back, leaving the other boy standing alone on the walkway around the huge room. He guided Raven to her usual spot and plopped down a comfortable distance away from her, watching her carefully out of the corner of his eyes.

Dick rolled his eyes, then sighed in resignation, following after them.