The Lonely Bird

Chapter 3

Megan (Miss Martian)'s POV

It was about 8pm, and we were all ready for dinner. Everyone was waiting by the Ferris wheel to decide if we wanted to go somewhere or if we wanted to just eat at the food court here. We were just waiting for Garfield and Raven to arrive.

Soon, we saw Garfield strolling up with his hands stuffed in his pockets and his head hanging down.

"Where's Raven?" asked Damian.

"Hell if I know. I haven't seen her in an hour."

"An hour?!!" Damian fumed while he reached for his communicator to try to contact her. It beeped, but there was no signal coming from her side. We couldn't track it.

"Let's all split up and look for her," suggested Kori. "We can meet up back here in 20 minutes."

I nodded along with everyone else. I headed to the south where all the kiddie rides were. I doubted she would be there, but it was probably better if I wasn't the one to find her anyway. I checked all the bathrooms and behind all the rides, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Accepting she wasn't there, I returned to the Ferris wheel. I was the first there, but within five minutes everyone else had come back. No one with Raven. I could visibly watch the worry starting to set in with all of us as one by one they all arrived without Raven in tow.

"Alright, we can split up and start searching the city." Unfortunately, that's as far as Kori got in the plan because we were interrupted by the beep of Kori's communicator. She opened it up and declared, "Trouble. Cinderblock has escaped, looks like he's headed towards the city. I'm sorry everyone. Raven is going to have to wait."

We dashed to the car to get our suits before we took off towards Cinderblock, as inconspicuously as we could of course.

We found him a few miles down the street from the prison and headed downtown. He was reaching down to pick up a car to continue terrorizing the city.

"Miss Martian, take care of the civilians. Beast Boy, you and I will handle the heavy hitting. Robin and Kid Flash, flank him from each side. Let's find away to tie this guy up." Starfire commanded, "Titans, go!"

We split up and immediately went to secure the area. I swooped in to rescue the man crouched in terror while Starfire intercepted the flying car.

I flew the man away from the battle before going back to make sure no one else was near. It was the most boring job really. Fit for the rookie. While they were risking their lives, I was maintaining the perimeter.

I was sure they could handle it though. It wasn't their first time taking down Cinderblock. I sighed and continued walking around the street casually checking for any civilians that could be getting caught in the crossfire. I stood in front of an alley and glanced to see if there was anybody hiding.

"Miss Martian, watch out!!" I whipped around at the sound of Beast Boy's voice but found myself faced with a huge chunk of the sidewalk flying straight towards me.

I shouldn't have let my guard down.

Time seemed to move slower, but I was still unable to move. I saw the cement moving moving through the air as if it were a paper airplane easily gliding towards me. I watched Beast Boy as he morphed into a cheetah. I felt him as he barreled straight into me, knocking me out of the way. I heard his scream while he was pinned by what was supposed to have hit me. A cheetah was not strong enough to withstand several hundred pounds of pressure. A human body was definitely not strong enough either. Beast Boy didn't think quickly enough to morph into something stronger. Something that could take the blow.

"Beast Boy!" I screamed as I came to my senses and ran towards him. I lifted the cement off of him to reveal an unconscious green boy. I checked his pulse. Weak, but there.

My team was finishing up Cinderblock. They had him wrapped up in more than a dozen lampposts. I could see Starfire barking some orders at Kid Flash and Robin before she joined us.

"Robin and I will take him back to the Tower to assess his injuries. Kid Flash and you will wait here to make sure Cinderblock gets secured in a prison cell. After, I want you both to resume the search for Raven."

"Got it."

Starfire tenderly picked up Beast Boy and started her flight back to the Tower while Robin hopped on his motorcycle and sped off. Robin was pretty obviously not happy, I suspected that it was partly due to the fact that he was not included in the search for Raven, but he was definitely better at caring for injuries than Kid Flash and I. My inability to pay attention to what was going on around me was also probably contributing to the rigidity in his angry body.

The police had already arrived, so it didn't take long for us to get Cinderblock back into custody. Kid Flash and I reviewed the security measures they had in place and made suggestions to improve his holding cell. Well, Kid Flash made suggestions, and I used my strength to move Cinderblock as needed.

Afterwards, we scoured the city. Kid Flash took to the streets while I flew overhead. We were already nearing midnight. It would have been peaceful and relaxing to soar through the crisp, clean air if so much hadn't gone wrong that night.

I was searching downtown when I found her perched on the edge of a tall building. She sat there like a gargoyle, completely emotionless and utterly terrifying.

"Raven?" Her head shot up and she stared at me, saying nothing. But my own babbling filled the silence that surrounded her, "Kid Flash and I have been looking everywhere for you. We need to get back to the tower, Beast Boy is injured. He was unconscious, Starfire and Robin took him back."

I didn't have a second to think before she flew towards me, and I was engulfed by darkness. It was cold and suffocating. For a moment, I felt like the nothingness would consume me.

When the feeling disappeared and I opened my eyes, I found myself in the hospital wing of the tower.

Damian had rushed over to Raven, asking if she was okay and where she had gone. She was pushing him off and trying to make her way over to the bed where Garfield lay.

Despite the fact Garfield and Raven had obviously fought again earlier, she wanted to make sure he was okay. I didn't understand how she could look so impassive when worry was etched into every movement of her body. Although her face may have been void of emotion, her hands betrayed her. They moved too gently and with too much care as she tried to check his injuries. There was a hint of tenderness that wouldn't be present if she was just evaluating him.

How could I ever truly fit in here? They all loved each other so much. They'd all been through so much together. I was trying so hard to fit in with them it was exhausting. How much longer could I pretend?

My inner melodrama was halted by the whoosh of air that blew past me as Wally zipped into the room.

"Oh man, is he going to be okay?" Wally pleaded. I finally realized the plethora of tubes running in and out of Beast Boy.

"He's on life support, ventilator and everything. Most of the bones in his body are probably broken, and he's bleeding internally. He would be dead if he wasn't built a little sturdier than most. But Raven's here now..." Kori trailed off in her explanation. "You can help him right?"

"Yes. But it'll be too draining if I try to do everything at once. I'll perform the spells, but it'll be hours before he wakes up. It's been a long night for everyone I'm sure, so you should all go to bed." Raven hovered her hands above his chest and began muttering spells, her eyes closed tight in concentration.

"All right, you heard her. Everyone out." Kori immediately began shooing us out of the medical wing.

As I lay in bed, I thought briefly about Raven. She had been gone for a couple of hours, and the team was completely helpless without her. I was careless and not paying any attention to the battle around me, and it would've cost Garfield his life if Raven wasn't here. There's no way this team could survive without her. She may not realize it, but her cool, calming presence was the glue that held this team together.

And here I am disrupting it.