Devil in My Mind

Daddy-Daughter Vibes

Raven and Cyborg sit on couches across from one another in the den. Beast Boy's returned to being a German Shepherd, sitting beside her on the sofa, his head in her lap. She's jittery, anxious-leg-bouncing, her fist balled against her lips as she stressfully stares at the floor.

"You wanna talk about it?" Cyborg asks.

"No," she murmurs.

"I understand. I'll just ask you something I sometimes ask myself, which is, am I gonna make it through this? Are you? You gonna make it through this, Raven?"

She moves her hand away from her mouth, then places it on Beast Boy's furry, comforting, doggy head.

"It doesn't feel like it."

"When I'm not sure I'm gonna be alright, I look at the facts, as illogical as they may be. You got thrown into a pit to hell. Starfire flew in there and got you out. Now there's a place in your mind, a portal, where you can go. It's not fair that Trigon took advantage of that, but it seems to be working in your favor."

She covers her face, trying so very hard not to cry. Beast Boy sits up, pawing her to hold onto him.

"Hey Rae," Cyborg says, watching her latch onto their canine-mimicking teammate. "We don't know the whole story, no one really does but you. But as far as I understand it, you're still a portal. And maybe the only reason you didn't know that until now, is because that wish you made hadn't come true. The prophecy said you're a portal for your father."

"I know but..."

"Kay, well you wished for a new father and I don't think it's an accident that someone showed up who fit the mold. So, ya made a new portal, a new place, because you didn't wanna let him go. And because of that, he's still alive. Ya gotta be pretty proud of yourself."

"All I feel is sadness. He was dying. Even if he wasn't dead by demon standards, my human side didn't know that. I hate Slade."

"Everybody hates Slade. We haven't been able to track him at all. He either fled the city or one of those demons got him. I'm willing to bet it was the second one. Just speculating though. Whether we find him or not, what matters, is that the person he tried to kill is still alive. Because of you, Raven."

"Sounds like Robin told you all about the birthday wish."

"Yup. But let's get real, everyone could tell how much he loved you. Girl, so much. I dunno the demon code, but you guys didn't have to hold back. The daddy-daughter vibes, Raven, for real."

"I thought, if I keep wishing, if I never give up, it'll become real. Then it did, and it feels like, it's because of Slade that it did. It makes me wonder, was it black magic?"

"It's got nothing to do with Slade. In fact, I think you started seeing demons on your birthday, so we would need to find a Devil Hunter for you. It's like some part of you knew he was around already. Precognition, we all know you have it. That wish you made is what saved his life."

He stands, steps closer to her and opens his arms, knowing she'll actually go in for a hug for once. Not something she normally does with her friends, despite how freely she's been giving them out to Dante. She stands, does so, and is quiet, in a rough place.

Beast Boy hops off the couch, sitting as close to her as he can, whimpering empathetically.

"Hey, so, we were gonna have it be a surprise, but while you've been resting for the last few days, we visited Devil May Cry again to get blueprints for the shop."

"Why? What for?"

Beast Boy becomes human, elaborating with, "We're gonna rebuild it! You know he's probably not gonna wanna stay here again."

"You'd do that?"

"Heck, we should have done it in the first place," Cyborg says, releasing her carefully. Wiping tears away from her eyes, she asks...

"What about the hellgate?"

"None of us know how to close it," Beast Boy shrugs. "I guess we're stuck with demons in the city. It sucks but a professional Devil Hunter is on the way to save the day."

"And, Raven," Cyborg says, "we all had a talk about it, as a team. If it had been anyone else, rebuilding the shop in a safer location would have been our go to, right off the bat."

"He's right," says Beast Boy. "What we did was stupid."

"Trying to isolate him for everyone's safety," Cyborg finishes.

"But that's exactly what I've done. For his safety," Raven reminds them.

"Yeah because you love him, that's not why we were doing it," Beast Boy confesses, his ears flopping as he frowns.

"The truth is, it was out of fear," Cyborg confesses. "On behalf of the team, we're sorry. We're sorry for being afraid of the guy you love like a father."

Beast Boy adds, "Guess we thought, Raven, Trigon. Trigon, Raven. Raven, Father. Father, evil."

"That's the plebeian baloney that went through our nonsensical heads," Cyborg affirms.

"Yeah, and like, then Slade did what Slade did. We messed up. We messed up bad, real bad."

They pause, half expecting her to be upset with them for being so judgmental. Rightfully so.

"Thank you," she beams, her eyes glistening with graciousness. "Thank you for being willing to rebuild a place for him to live. Even if he doesn't want to stay, at least he'll have somewhere safe to go, nearby."

"Why wouldn't he wanna stay?" asks Beast Boy.

"You think he wants to go back to the Demon World?" asks Cyborg.

"You don't think it's weird that I want a dad at my age?" Raven asks.

"My mom is gone," Cyborg reminds her. "I'm older than you and I miss her everyday. Gonna miss her for the rest of my life."

"I miss my parents too," BB somberly relates. "What you two have, it's actually really special. Sorry we didn't treat him that way."

"Well but what about Dante? He didn't ask for this," she counters.

"Yeah, and he could have left," Cyborg reminds her. "Trust me, he could have taken us all down and bailed. He wasn't contractually obligated to do anything else after your birthday. But not only did he stick around, and put up with four people that weren't exactly reverent towards him, he voluntarily took on Slade for you. Look, your wish came true. Deal with it."

She laughs at his unfiltered words of tough love, which makes him grin.

"Great to see you smiling. How about we make you a cup of tea? I know it's not much but at least it's something."

"Sounds good. Thank you, Cyborg, Beast Boy."

"Anytime," Beast Boy says lovingly.

As Cyborg heads back into the kitchen, he adds, "Oh and hey, if there are any other Devil May Cry shops out there, they're not gonna be near as cool as the one I'm gonna design. People will definitely know they're talking to the head honcho when they pay Dante a visit at his new crib."

Beast Boy concurs, "He's not kidding. When it's done, It's gonna be dope!"