The Portal Child X: Surprises

For the first few minutes Raven and Gar talked with the Titans on the video conference. Among talking about the dress, wedding preparations and then pregnancy Raven managed to blab out about the twins. And made Rita lose it again. Arella took care of that, fortunately (and of Mento's headache by the way). So the news spread, and after Speedy ended their call with a toast and congratulations, Raven was attacked by their female guests.

"So! Twins!" Sarah began with a grin and a gleam in her eyes.

"Yeah, how'd that happen, girl?" Bee asked.

"Oh, you know" Raven rolled her eyes. "When a man and a woman love each other very much..." The three chuckled.

"But that's exciting!" Karen said. "Are they identical?" Sarah nodded her head to show she wished to join into the question.

"No, they're not." Raven had to literally bite her tongue to prevent herself from saying 'they may have different fathers, too'.

"It would be super adorable if you got a pair!" Sarah squealed.

"I agree!" Kori chimed into the conversation.

"Yeah, sure." Have a portal-demon-daughter and a half-shifter-prankster-overly-energetic son? All hell would break loose... Oh dear Azar, what if that's what will happen?

"Have you been thinking on names yet?" Sarah's question pulled her out from that horrible thought.

"No, we're waiting for the gender reveal. Still at least a month to wait for that." But only three weeks until the paternity test, she comforted herself in her mind. Although that didn't bring any comfort at all. What if they're both Trigon's...?

"You scared?" Bee asked. Raven replied with a small smile.

"A little, yes." I'm scared as hell. As fvck even. I may freaking die and kill every person in Azar knows how big range! What if Trigon uses the child as his portal at the birth?! She felt her knees going week, and her vision failed her. She felt her body fall forward and she heard someone's panicked 'oh my god!' and she fell into somebody's arms.

"Raven, are you the alright?" she heard Kori's voice. She frowned, her vision slowly coming back to normal. People circled her, the first being Gar, Kori and dr. Love, then Sarah, Karen, Arella, Rita and Jinx. She heard kids, asking what's going on, over and over again. Gar took Raven's weight from Kori.

"Okay, you've been standing for a little too long" he said, helping her to a chair. She gladly sat down, her knees slightly shaky.

"Have you eaten something today?" dr. Love asked her. Raven nodded, Garfield and Kori confirmed verbally. "Drink?"

"She drank one tea in the morning" Nightwing said. "Then we lost her to Kori and Jinx."

"I think we actually neglected it" Jinx admitted, exchanging looks with Kori. "Come to think of it, this is my first drink since the morning" she indicated the glass in her hand.

"Oh, Raven, I am so sorry to have had you dehydrated..." Kori whined, tears already welling up in her eyes.

"It's fine, I'm an adult. But that explains why I haven't been going to the bathroom all that much today" Raven muttered, taking a glass of orange juice from her husband and drinking it greedily.

"Do me a favor Raven and don't sabotage yourself, alright?" dr. Love spoke in a gentle tone. "Stay on that chair for few minutes. And drink often from now on."

She's listened to Arella and Rita scolding her alternately, then Melvin and boys walked to her all worked up and worried, so they needed to calm them down. Then Kori cried a little more about being an awful friend. After that Sarah and Karen wanted to make sure it wasn't because of their storm of questions. Of course Raven denied, even though her dizziness was partially caused by exactly that. Then Rikki came to the view.

"Hi" she said cheerfully. "It's me, the wedding wrecker."

"Hi wedding wrecker" Gar said, pretending to be on a support group of sorts.

"Okay" Rikki sighed as if she was preparing for saying something of great importance. "What you thought isn't gonna happen."

"How-..."

"Is not." Rikki emphasized. "I checked. Like a thousand times since I know you're preggy."

"Why wouldn't he just do it?" Raven whispered her question. Rikki smiled brightly.

"Well, my dear, because becoming his tiny pawn requires huge amount of energy. And newborns are pretty weary after coming out of the mom. Believe me, I asked my sister-in-law of blessed memory after she gave birth to Wojtek." Oh dear Azar, Polish names were so funny next to English words. Raven couldn't hide the smirk, Rikki followed her suit. "And nobody's gonna die. So you can do what the doctor ordered and just relax and stay positive. Because it's not going to be all that bad. You believe me?"

"I wish she did" Gar chimed in, gently caressing Raven's cheek.

"You have to trust me on this, Rae" Rikki said.

"What else did you see?" Raven asked. The Polish girl narrowed her eyes with a smile.

"Wouldn't you want to know..."

"Come on, Riks, calm her down a little more" Gar pleaded. Raven's palms were still trembling delicately in his own.

"No, I'm gonna spoil everything!" she chuckled. "Rave, listen. Everything's going to be fine. Just take care of yourself and agree on whatever Mister Hunt will ask of you. And then don't worry about anything. A'right?"

Raven sighed heavily. How she wished Rikki was right. Although, if she was to trust anyone on this, it was her. Not everyone can surf other dimensions and timelines on the internet, like Rikki could. "Fine."

"That's my girl" Rikki scrunched up her nose and walked away. And somehow, the Lakota man was in their faces.

"Are you okay now?" he asked, actually sounding concerned.

"It was just a little dizziness, I'm fine" Raven assured him with a faint smile.

"She didn't drink much today" Gar explained.

"No, that's not it" the holy man stated, staring at Raven intently. "You fear evil spirits."

They were both taken aback, but only Garfield spoke. "Is that some shamanic trick?"

"I am a talented man" Mr. Hunt offered. He sounded tired. "You see, I'm not just a holy man. I possess some... super power, as it is called nowadays."

The freshly married couple exchanged looks. Garfield spoke again. "You mean, you can actually contact the spirits and all?"

"Contact spirits, see auras, yes, that's all connected to my profession." The man seemed annoyed with the irrelevance of the aforementioned abilities to his speech. "But there's one thing you cannot learn if you're not born with its root." Raven raised a curious eyebrow, her husband frowned, trying to focus. "I was born with that root, as my grandfather before me, and his grandfather before him. And now..." He straightened his old back, looking proud and royal. "I believe I can see the root in my two year old grandson."

"Root of what?" Raven asked.

"Air bending." The two of them exchanged looks again. The old man continued. "I would love to teach him. To show him everything I know, like my grandfather did for me. But I'm old." He winced. Raven sensed emotional pain coming off this man, and it really didn't help her dizziness. "I'm afraid I won't be around long enough to teach him everything."

"So you want us to take care of it?" Raven concluded. Hunt nodded.

"The boy's mother... she suffered a depression and ended her life recently. And my son does not possess my knowledge. There might be some other medicine man who could teach my grandson, I see the potential in him, he's a very spiritual kid lready. But the priority is the air bending. And that..." he shook his head, setting his two braids in swinging motion. "Nobody knows but me."

"And by the time he's old enough to train, you may no longer live" Gar finished for him.

"That is my concern" the Native man admitted. "I don't want my grandson to be set astray. I don't wish for him to rot in the reservation like his parents did. I want him to have a good start and to become a great man. Hence my request."

"Do we have any aeromancer?" Gar wondered, glancing at his wife.

"I'm afraid not. Aqualad's a hydromancer. And we have Hot Spot, he's sort of a pyromancer. And if not them, there's always Geo-Force" she finished.

"That should suffice" Mr. Hunt said with a nod. "I believe all elements are quite the same. Can I count on you taking care of the boy when I'm no longer among the living?"

"As long as his father will agree, I think we can arrange that" Raven said.

"Can I ask of you to also keep an eye on his shamanic abilities?" Gaining nods from both of them, Mr. Hunt seemed to take a second of relief. "I will be forever grateful." He opened his eyes and looked directly at Raven again. "Now, about the evil spirits you fear." Raven raised an eyebrow. "The Russian girl showed me what can happen under certain circustances." Seeing Raven gasp slightly, he quickly shook his hand. "You are on the good way now, don't worry." The bride seemed to calm down. "However when the children are already born, their first bath you should give them in a cedar water." Raven looked at him both interested and confused. "Cedar represents soul and it purifies and attracts good energy and good spirits. Also burn incest or drink tea with sweetgrass and sage." Raven thought she must've been really desperate since she actually considered doing so. Next words took her aback though. "But not tobacco. Tobacco tea is terrible."

"You drank tobacco tea?" Garfield asked with a disgusted face.

"I'm old." They both nodded in understanding. "As I was saying, sage purifies the negative influences. It's very good with evil spirits." And it's healthy every few days as I recall, Raven thought to herself. "But basically it's good with all negativity, that's good for you. Sweet grass is for cleansing mind, soul and body. It also stops powers of evil entities."

"And all that works?" Gar asked.

"If it didn't, I wouldn't be talking so long" the shaman said with a shrug. "Anyway, I should get going." He got up.

"It was nice having you" Raven said getting up and feeling a little dizzy again. "And thank you for the ceremony and your advise."

Mr. Hunt waved his hand for her to stop. "That's the least I could do for you. I wish you two all the best."

"Same to you, Mister Hunt" Garfield said, shaking the old man's hand.
~~~
"Alright, newlyweds!" Cyborg yelled. "Time for the presents!"

"What presents?" Gar and Raven asked in unison.

"I mean, I know Alfred sent a terribly heavy package but..." Garfield went on while Cyborg pushed both of them to the nicely wrapped boxes Raven hadn't noticed before. I mean a pile of big boxes, Raven, come on, focus, woman!

"Alfred sent something?" she asked surprised.

"Yes, we get it, you love Alfred."

"I married you Gar. Just an hour ago."

"Yeah, just because he'll last longer" Nightwing teased. Raven and Gar both sent him glares while others laughed.

"Yeah, sure. Make fun of me because I'm fond of elderly people" Raven rolled her eyes.

"Okay, there's a note" Gar said, and read aloud. "Dearest, thank you for the invitation. I regret deeply that I could not attend to your wedding ceremony (I need to babysit that big baby in a bat's suit)..." he stopped, letting everyone laugh it up. "... I do hope this gift will make up for my absence and will turn out to be both useful and enjoyable. I wish the two of you the best of luck and happiness on the new way of life. With best regards, Alfred Pennyworth. P.S. I'm waiting for another round of chess play with my favorite chess partner..."

A loud 'aw' resounded through the guests.

"This makes me want to go there now..." Raven confessed.
 
They unpacked Alfred's gift (Gar much less gracefully than his wife) and opened the box. And then the unthinkable happened. Raven gasped, surged into the box and pulled out a book.

"Grimms' Fairy Tales!" she dug in the box. "Both volumes!"

"Seriously?" Gar asked, while his wife traced the letters and opened one of the books.

"Oh Azar, it's the first edition." Raven's eyes went wide. Her husband dove into the box and fished out another old looking book.

"What'cha got there, Beastie?" Cyborg asked.

"H. C. Andersen, Fairy tales Told for Children, Vol. 1" he read in a deadpan.

"Oh, no way!" Raven took the book from him and opened it with wide, hungry eyes. "Gar, do you know what this is?"

"Some old crap for kids?" he asked, digging into the box again and pulling out another Andersen's Fairy Tales. And earning a few chuckles from the watching guests.

"You're so ungrateful" Raven muttered, taking another book out. "These are the most beautiful fairy tales ever told, and as far as I see, they're all antiques. Look, Perrault's Tales of Mother Goose, this is wonderful!"

"Yeah, how many Andersens did he send us? Geez..." Gar muttered, taking yet another Andersen out.

"Probably all of them..." Raven said, sniffing. Jinx leaned down to her.

"Are you crying over some books?" she asked incredulously.

"Winnie the Pooh!" Raven read, not paying attention to her friends.

"Nope" Garfield said, gaining Jinx's attention. "She's crying over some old books" he corrected her.

"Look! Alice in Wonderland, with the author's illustrations!" Raven showed it to her unappreciative hubbie.

"I'd illustrate it better" he said, earning chuckles from the guests. He looked up at the guests. "Don't get me wrong, those books are awesome and all, but she didn't even cry at my vows. My vows, dudes! I mean, come on!" He slightly chuckled himself.

Raven waved her hand at her face. "Stupid hormones..." she muttered in complaint. "Gar, blow at my eyes, please?" she said, turning to him. Beast frowned.

"Why?"

"I have make up on, just blow." Hearing this he shrugged, ignoring the chuckles around them and blew gently into Raven's fluttering eyes.

"Hashtag Just-Girly-Things!!!" Karen yelled. All females clapped and cheered.

"Is anyone recording this?" Raven asked the crowd. Cyborg stepped closer to her.

"You know it, sis."

"Are you going to send this to Alfred?" she asked. Cyborg nodded. "Great. Thank you, Alf, I love them, I'll come as soon as I can."

"You better hurry, gonna be busy with two kids on your arms" Garfield muttered. Raven sent him a stink eye and Cyborg laughed.
After all the presents have been unpacked and gushed over, the party ended. In the tower stayed only its residents and Rita with Steven. And it was time to explain a thing or two to them. They both decided Arella would assist them, while Garfield told his adoptive parents the real deal. Mento was frowning intently, while Rita seemed terrified with her eyes opened as wide as they were. All the color drained from her face. Now Garfield, Raven and Arella only waited for some kind of verbal reaction.
Mento glanced over at Raven, then looked directly at Gar, and said.
"And you still married her?"

The disbelief in his voice must've been the thing that brought Rita back to life. She frowned at him, as if to scold him for even asking such a question, but stayed quiet.

"The woman I truly love?" Garfield asked rhetorically. "You were here, I thought. That happened few hours ago." He didn't even try to cover the fact that he was already pissed with Mento's reaction. "Why should I not marry her?"

"Well, for starters, the kids may not be yours. Second thing is, one or both of them will destroy the world someday. I thought you knew what being a superhero is?"

"So what, I should kill her and lose the opportunity to get the kids under control?"

Mento opened his mouth to counter, but nothing left his lips. Garfield smirked.

"Didn't cross your genius mind, huh? All you can do is jump to conclusions. And wrong ones."

"Garfield, I think that is enough" Arella put a hand on his arm while Mento rubbed his face.

"Besides, Steven" Rita began. "You should wake some empathy in yourself, Raven was abused by her own father. It's not her fault. And one of the children might be Garfield's..."

"Might" he spat the word like a venom. "What are the chances?"

No one answered. Of course they knew the chances were like one to the number of stars, but hope dies the last. And they were still hoping.

"We'll do the paternity test and find out soon" Raven reminded.

"I don't like it" Mento stated.

Rita groaned. "No one cares, Steven. I like that my son married for love. I hope they're going to be happy against all odds, and I am going to be supportive of them whether you approve it or not. And I'm going to love both my grandchildren when they're finally here."

Mento was speechless. So was Raven. Arella smiled contently and Gar raised his eyebrows.

"Thanks, mom" he said. She smiled at them kindly. Steven nodded his head as if he was slowly accepting the situation. Finally they got up and Steve reached out a hand to Garfield.

"I hope you know what you're doing" he said. Gar grabbed his hand firmly and shook it.

"I do. Have more faith in me tho." Mento nodded once and then pulled his son into a two-second hug, finishing it with a firm pat on the shoulder. Garfield returned the gesture. Then Rita hugged the three of them (Raven exceptionally firmly, the empath literally felt the love and support flowing from Rita's aura to hers), they said their goodbyes and disappeared in their ship.

While Mento prepared for the flight, Rita spoke.
"You think he's a fool."

"He's covered in sh!t up to his neck..." he responded.

"They love each other, Steve."

Mento turned the engine on and left his grim thoughts to himself.