The Lonely Bird

Chapter 4

Raven POV

Casting spells is draining. But casting spells for hours at a time while my friend is barely breathing? It's a miracle I'm still alive. Maybe Zatanna could heal him quickly and easily, but I'm only 15. I'm just not powerful enough.

Honestly, I'm mad he got into this mess in the first place. Kori filled me in after she made everyone leave. I understand protecting teammates, and I understand Miss Martian wasn't making any moves to protect herself. But still, she's a lot stronger than Garfield. If she had gotten hit instead, we wouldn't be in this mess. Any injuries she received would've been much easier to handle.

Giving Garfield any kind of medical care was always a hassle. We can't ever just take him to a normal hospital because they don't know what to do with him. His DNA is unstable, so his basic anatomy is different. He doesn't respond to medicine the same way.

He'll be cracking jokes again the second he wakes up though. He'll be happy we were all so worried about him. I'm sure he'll revel in the attention. Garfield was such an enigma sometimes. I've caught him looking heartbroken and lost in thought, but he is truly the most positive force on our team. He acts arrogant but in such a lighthearted, joking way that he comes across as very humble. Despite his constant sarcasm and silliness, he knows the exact right thing to say in hard situations. He's not the strongest or well-trained on our team, but he does his job well and I can always count on him to watch my back. I don't understand him, but I respect him immensely.

I wish I could have a better friendship with him, but the idea of it scares me. His happiness and laughter is contagious, and I can't allow myself to feel happy. If I let one emotion in, the rest will follow. If I can't control my anger, then I won't be able to control myself anymore.

I can see why he was frustrated with me earlier. He's tried so hard to be my friend even though I won't let him. I wish I could explain to him that it's not his fault.

I sighed and reached out to comb Garfield's messy hair with my fingers. I had already been casting spells for several hours now. Pretty soon, the sun would rise.

His condition was stable now, and I'd stopped all the internal bleeding. I'd healed the fractures in his skull and any bones that were piercing organs. The hard part was over. As my whole body ached, I took a deep breath and began trying to fix the easiest bones.

I hovered my hands over his body and slowly moved them around as I began to mend. Nearly every bone in his body had some sort of crack in it. That being said, most of them had not actually been shattered or severely damaged. His ribs, back, and skull had been in a horrible state, but they were all in prime condition now. The tiny cracks were easy to heal in comparison. They took basically no effort. However, I don't think I'm going to be able to tackle the large, though not life threatening, breaks. His right femur is in three pieces, his left radius has two stable fractures, his left ulna has a comminuted fracture, and his collarbone is still broken on his right side.

My hands are shaking, and my legs feel like they're going to give out from under me. The dull pain throughout my body is growing stronger every second. It's becoming almost unbearably excruciating. My magic is empathic healing. I absorb Garfield's pain so I can induce rapid healing. My team doesn't know that. If they did, I don't think they would let me heal them as often as I do.

Suddenly, Garfield's eyes fluttered open. "You look terrible."

He seemed startled at how weak his voice sounded. He cleared his throat as he oriented himself to being awake again. Once he blinked away the sleep, he should feel normal. The lingering effects of my magic should keep him from feeling any intense pain.