Categories > Cartoons > Teen Titans > To the End of the World . . . and After
To the End of the World . . . and After
A Teen Titans fic, by DrT
*
Chapter XIV – The Return
Raven’s Return, Part II
*
September 10, 1922
Unknown to Raven, while she had been making her final preparations, others around the world were preparing to aid her in her journey.
In Rome, the head of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith since the previous November, Angelo Roncalli, knelt in prayer in Vatican City. After much soul searching, and some research, he had found that there were other members of the hierarchy who were aware of the mysterious traveler, although not in anything like the detail he knew her. They had been surprised to learn of his contact with her, and concerned over her claimed demonic heritage, but in the end, they had decided not to act on that knowledge should she indeed leave their world this day. If she did not, they would try and find out more about her. With their help, he was granted access to the grotto of St. Peter’s, nearly underneath the High Altar. He felt he needed all the Heavenly assistance he could summons to help the lost woman home.
In New Orleans, several islands of the Caribbean, and numerous places in Brazil and West Africa, very different prayer ceremonies were being conducted. Dream Walkers gathered around fires in several places in Australia. Prayer circles were formed in dozens of Buddhist monasteries, and at other enclaves where those touched by mystical power gathered.
Only a few knew exactly why they were all gathering, but all knew that something powerful and good had been visiting their world, and was striving mightily to return home. All wanted to aid her in her journey.
Raven would never know that the ease with which she left her temporary home was made possible by the prayers and powers of over a thousand mystics, supported even more of their comrades.
When they sensed her having left them, their power sealed their world from ever physically having such a visitor from that reality again. Their Visitor had been good, and had not really touched their world, but that didn’t mean that any future visitor would be so benign.
*
In her home universe, many had also gathered to bring Raven home, starting several days earlier, the last arriving barely an hour before the possible window might open. The station had more people on it than it had since the evacuation. The station commander had wisely left it up to the visitors to coordinate what was happening.
Much to Garfield’s impatience, nothing obvious was being done until three hours before the ritual to ease Raven back into this universe could begin to start. He understood why – the final fine details could not be thought out until it was clear who would be available. Still, it wasn’t easy to just wait, even if he welcomed Richard and Starfire’s attendance, as well as the others. Of course, he hadn’t paid much attention to anyone else who was there until the gathering started.
Seeing the crowd on the flight deck, Garfield merely demanded, “So, who’s going to run this?”
To his surprise, it was Doctor Fate who presented himself. “I had thought I would, but there are some even more qualified than I am.”
“Wonder Woman?” Garfield asked in surprise, seeing her approach.
“Not I, Garfield Logan.” Four shapes coalesced behind her. “May I present to all the goddesses Aphrodite, Athena, Hecate, and Hera, queen.”
Most of the crowd made at least a token bow.
“Fear not, Garfield Logan, your love shall be returned to you,” Aphrodite stated.
“We shall design the format,” Hera stated, cutting in. “Hecate, Athena, Doctor Fate, attend me.”
Aphrodite came over and smiled at Garfield. “While they are designing the ceremony, take heart from those who are here for you.”
The rest of the crowd stepped back as symbols and designs were quickly drawn onto the surface of the large space. As they were doing so, Richard placed his hand on Garfield’s shoulder. “They know what they’re doing.”
“Yeah,” Garfield complained, “they might get her back, but who’s going out to actually get her?”
“The Green Lanterns,” stated Bruce Wayne from behind his adopted son. “They arrived at the station a few minutes ago, and should be here soon.”
“Actually, they’re here now,” Victor stated, relief in his voice.
Garfield turned towards the station entrance, expecting at least the four Lanterns still assigned to the sector. He was shocked when he saw that fifty, including three Guardians, were coming towards him.
“The Lantern Corps keeps its promises,” one of the Guardians told him when they got to the group around Garfield. “Every survivor is precious. When Senior Green Lantern Jordan asked if he could call for volunteers, far too many answered. These are the most who could be spared.”
Athena came up to the group. “In sixty-three Earth minutes, the window of opportunity shall open. Will all the Corps be outside?”
“They shall, as well as two Guardians,” the blue being responded. “I shall remain to coordinate.”
“We will be able to add your power to the Ritual, if you permit it.”
“If it will not cause interference in my relaying of information, it shall be so.”
“It will not.”
“There should be someone else out there,” Bruce mused, looking around the crowded space.
“There will actually be three more,” came a voice from the door. Turning, they saw that Superman, Supergirl, and Superboy were standing there. “Sorry, we had to handle a small problem on the way in. We left a space pirate ship disabled out near Alpha Centauri. We’ll pick them up after this is over.”
“Coordinate with my fellow Guardians for your placement,” the Guardian instructed.
“All right, everyone!” Doctor Fate called. “We’re going to show you your places. Remember them, and then take any trips to the rest room you might need. Once the ritual starts, many of you will be unable to leave!”
The center of the ritual symbols was a pentagram. Athena, Aphrodite, and Hecate would stand at three of the points, Doctor Fate at a fourth. Garfield was placed at the fifth, the one pointing in the general direction Raven should appear in. Hera and the Guardian were placed in ritual circles connected to the pentagram, while the other three Titans were placed at the center of the design. Those with strong connections to Raven or those in the pentagram had set places behind Hera and the Guardian – the former members of Titans East, Bruce Wayne and Wonder Woman, Garfield’s foster mother Rita ‘Elasti-Girl’ Farr (the other members of the Doom Patrol had not made the trip), Kid Flash, and, to her surprise, Jinx.
“We will only be tapping into your raw powers and positive feelings,” Hecate assured her. “Do not fear, young Jinx, you will not ‘jinx’ the rescue.” The others were ranged behind the group of directly linked supporters and would be the only ones who could move about once the ceremony started, providing of course that they not approach the ritual area itself.
The rescuers were given the first chances to use the rest rooms, and then they deployed to their positions, the closest some ninety kilometers from the station, the furthers a further hundred and fifty kilometers away, forming a sphere. The super trio could not speak in deep space, of course, but they had communicators which would relay coded messages and brief texts.
“It is nearly time,” Hera finally announced. The people started moving into position along the laid-out symbols.
“The window of opportunity will open in less than three minutes,” Doctor Fate told them. “Raven will likely wait at least nine minutes, which is when the portal should be fully stabilized. She will then have at least fifteen minutes, more likely twenty-one, before it begins to degrade. She should have between seventy-five and eighty-seven minutes in total.”
“How long will it take her to come through once she starts?” Bruce asked, more to remind everyone concerned than to check if the information he had was still accurate.
“Less than a second,” Athena answered. “It is like taking a step.”
“It is time for us to help open the portal,” Hera commanded.
*
“She has left,” Nelson told the group. Sonam and the other mystics gathered used a ritual that sealed the portal, something they had not told Raven they were doing, as they had been unsure of their success.
When they were done, Sonam stood and addressed his group. “Raven is strong, and will survive. Be content that we had her with us for over two years. Come, Mister Nelson, we must cleanse the symbols from her room.”
*
“The portal is being used,” Hera stated. She had informed the group that once the window of opportunity opened, with one exception only she would speak unless someone felt there was a problem. All present were connected, but most could not interpret what they were sensing. “She is through, and the portal is closed, and sealed.” The ritual now channeled its power into locating Raven and calling out to her.
The exception was the Guardian. After fifteen seconds, she reported, “A large black field outlined in white in the shape of a bird formed when she came through, which immediately dissipated. A black sphere of power has been located by three Green Lanterns at what had been its center.”
At that moment, all those directly connected ‘heard’ Raven speak in their minds. “Garfield!” The lack of panic or pain in her voice assured the group that Raven’s sphere had made the transition intact.
“Green Lantern Trainer Kilowog has made contact with her power sphere and is starting to push it towards the station,” the Guardian announced. “They are a hundred and thirty-two kilometers from the airlock . . . now. Her power is interfering slightly with the power of the ring. They are therefore moving slowly, and he is unable to surround the sphere with his power.”
A few seconds later, the Guardian reported, “Both Guardians and eleven other Lanterns are now in support. Should the trip take too long and the sphere dissipate, she will be immediately rescued and transported to the station. Kilowog is now moving at approximately thirty kilometers an hour.”
“No one panic!” Hera commanded, feeling the fear level around her rise. “The situation is far from ideal, but it is still well within the limits of safety.”
The seconds ticked by, and suddenly all heard Raven’s cry of, “BEAST BOY!” Only the points of the pentagram heard the rest: “I love you.”
“Superman has arrived to assist Green Lantern Kilowog, and their speed has now doubled. Going any faster instantly would cause the sphere to dissipate. They will, however, try and slowly increase their speed. They should reach the airlock just before it dissolves, if the estimate of the optimum time Raven sent in the exchange was accurate and she achieves that. If it does dissolve early, please remember that the other eleven Green Lanterns are there to insure a rescue.”
“The ritual is ended,” Hera announced. “Now, we can only await their arrival.” They had successfully helped open the portal, and then sealed it behind Raven from their side, which would help her conserve at least a little power for the sphere she was in. They had also helped locate her, and made enough contact so that they, and hopefully she, knew all was as well as was possible.
“Come on, Garfield,” Victor said. “Richard, Star, come with us. Someone mystical should come with us, too, in case the bubble is still intact and we have to dissolve it in the air lock.”
Hera nodded to Doctor Fate, and he joined the group going towards the airlock.
“The atmosphere will be hot and oxygen enriched once it is established after the airlock closes,” Victor told them. “Make sure there aren’t any sparks.” Starfire knew this was mostly directed at her. She would ensure her star bolts were under her total control, no matter what the situation.
The small group left the others. Wonder Woman turned to Bruce. “Time?”
“Six minutes, twenty-one seconds,” he answered. Wonder Woman looked towards the goddesses present.
“They are a bit more than a quarter of the way here, Diana,” Athena answered the unasked question.
“Even if the sphere collapsed at this moment, she should sustain no lasting damage,” the Guardian told the group. While somewhat reassuring, it wasn’t totally so. After all, ‘no lasting damage’ was very different than a truly safe arrival.
*
“Whoa, Garfield!” Victor grabbed the anxious young man by the shoulder. “You too, Star! You both know better than try and go through a sealed air lock! See, it’s depressurized.”
“Sorry,” Garfield muttered.
“Yes, we are most anxious to see our friend!” Starfire agreed. She frowned. “I should have gone with them and hurried them along!”
“You can maneuver in deep space, but you aren’t as agile as the Lanterns or Superman,” Victor reminded his friend.
Starfire crossed her arms and merely gave the empty chamber a dirty look. Down the corridor from them, Richard saw a small medical team was assembled. Hopefully, they would not be needed. “Time?” he asked Victor.
“Eight minutes, twelve seconds.” There was no one they could ask about how fast the rescue might be operating. All they could do was wait.
For Garfield, this was perhaps the second worst wait of his life, after the one he had endured when Raven travelled to the other dimension. Then, he knew that failure to transport to the station meant either her leaving to become an exile, or death, and that he might not know which for months. The seconds waiting to see if the transporter would lock on had been fewer, but even more nerve-wrecking.
Now, Raven was alive; Raven was nearing. The question was, how good of shape would she be in? Would she be injured? The other questions: how she might have changed, how her feelings might have changed; those questions would have to be put off for at least a short time. Other questions, like if they had a future together, and if so, doing what and where, might be even further removed from having a timely answer.
Time would tell.
Was time passing as slowly as it felt, or was it speeding towards disaster? Garfield looked at his friend.
“I’ll say when twelve minutes have passed,” Victor stated. “Doing a countdown will do nothing for our nerves.”
“Look at me,” Richard told his friend. “Look me right in the eyes, and take slow, deep breaths. In . . . out . . . in . . . out . . . that’s right. Keep doing that. Relax as much as you can. Even in as a deep trance as she should be in, Raven might pick up your feelings, and that feeling can’t be panic. In . . . out. Just concentrate on your breathing, and on your feelings for her. Close your eyes and let her know you’re waiting for her, Gar. In . . . out.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Richard saw two things. First, that the outer entrance to the airlock was opening, meaning the rescue party was approaching. Second was Victor biting his lip, meaning the countdown was getting close. Even if Superman was able to get the party near the station in time, they would still have to slow down to enter the airlock.
“That’s twelve minutes,” Cyborg softly said, breaking their concentration on Garfield’s breathing exercises.
“Don’t panic,” Richard ordered, tightening his grip on Garfield. “Keep breathing!”
“The first of the Lanterns has entered!” Starfire squealed.
The rest of the group looked into the chamber as two other Lanterns entered the airlock. It could be seen that they were talking, but of course they couldn’t hear what was being said.
Then a complete green sphere was squeezed into the chamber, followed by the Green Lantern controlling the sphere and Superman.
Superman hit the switches which closed the outer airlock, and as soon as it was fully engaged, heated oxygen-rich air was pumped into the room. That process took over a minute. Finally, a buzzer sounded, and Kilowag let the green sphere and the energy around him both drop. The other Lanterns did the same.
Raven was collapsed in an unmoving heap on the deck.
The medical team pushed passed the heroes and into the air lock.
“It actually collapsed just as the air lock opened,” Superman said. “The other Green Lanterns completed the bubble and turned it over to Kilowog. She was exposed to open space for at most a second, and was airless for two seconds or less.”
*
Slowly, Raven came out of her trance. After a moment of stillness, she started to pay attention to her senses.
First of all, it seemed silent, and all she could hear was her breathing. ‘Well, no screams of damned souls at least,’ she thought. Next, she realized that she was lying on something comfortable. She was unbound in anyway, the slight weight on her nude body was a sheet, or something similar. That was only somewhat reassuring, especially considering the nudity. ‘I feel like a corpse that has been laid out,’ she thought. ‘No, if that were the case, the sheet might be over my head, and I certainly wouldn’t be breathing.’ Taking a deep breath, Raven could detect no obvious odors. ‘No brimstone, either.’ She took another deep breath. ‘I’m breathing, I can feel my heart beat – all signs point to being alive. I know I came through to somewhere, and I’m pretty sure it was open space somewhere near the station, so I should be there.’
Concentrating, Raven could hear the faint sound of air circulating through at least two vents, but the only scent in the air was from her own nervous sweat. Raven opened her eyes to darkness, but after a moment she could tell it was far was total.
Finally moving, Raven sat up, keeping the sheet in place. She saw she was in a small bedroom of some sort – there was only the narrow bed, a small chest of drawers, a desk with a comm station on it, and two sliding doors, one of them open. What little light there was came from the open door, obviously some sort of night light.
Hoping it was some type of bathroom, Raven nervously slipped out of bed and moved towards the open door, noting that the gravity was a bit less than she was used to, which, if she remembered correctly, likely meant she was in an outer area of the station. She was grateful to see that the door did lead to a toilet, and that there was a sink and a small shower unit as well. Turning on the overhead, she saw there were also some clothes folded on a shelf next to the sink. She shut the door, used the facilities, and after reading the instructions, took a quick shower.
She dressed in the loose clothes provided and went back to the bedroom, where she saw a pair of canvas deck shoes was under the desk. As she slipped them on, she also saw the comm unit was activated. She clicked on the message icon.
-Welcome back, Raven! Hit respond, and Garfield will be notified you are ready to receive visitors.-
Raven smiled.
She was home.
A Teen Titans fic, by DrT
*
Chapter XIV – The Return
Raven’s Return, Part II
*
September 10, 1922
Unknown to Raven, while she had been making her final preparations, others around the world were preparing to aid her in her journey.
In Rome, the head of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith since the previous November, Angelo Roncalli, knelt in prayer in Vatican City. After much soul searching, and some research, he had found that there were other members of the hierarchy who were aware of the mysterious traveler, although not in anything like the detail he knew her. They had been surprised to learn of his contact with her, and concerned over her claimed demonic heritage, but in the end, they had decided not to act on that knowledge should she indeed leave their world this day. If she did not, they would try and find out more about her. With their help, he was granted access to the grotto of St. Peter’s, nearly underneath the High Altar. He felt he needed all the Heavenly assistance he could summons to help the lost woman home.
In New Orleans, several islands of the Caribbean, and numerous places in Brazil and West Africa, very different prayer ceremonies were being conducted. Dream Walkers gathered around fires in several places in Australia. Prayer circles were formed in dozens of Buddhist monasteries, and at other enclaves where those touched by mystical power gathered.
Only a few knew exactly why they were all gathering, but all knew that something powerful and good had been visiting their world, and was striving mightily to return home. All wanted to aid her in her journey.
Raven would never know that the ease with which she left her temporary home was made possible by the prayers and powers of over a thousand mystics, supported even more of their comrades.
When they sensed her having left them, their power sealed their world from ever physically having such a visitor from that reality again. Their Visitor had been good, and had not really touched their world, but that didn’t mean that any future visitor would be so benign.
*
In her home universe, many had also gathered to bring Raven home, starting several days earlier, the last arriving barely an hour before the possible window might open. The station had more people on it than it had since the evacuation. The station commander had wisely left it up to the visitors to coordinate what was happening.
Much to Garfield’s impatience, nothing obvious was being done until three hours before the ritual to ease Raven back into this universe could begin to start. He understood why – the final fine details could not be thought out until it was clear who would be available. Still, it wasn’t easy to just wait, even if he welcomed Richard and Starfire’s attendance, as well as the others. Of course, he hadn’t paid much attention to anyone else who was there until the gathering started.
Seeing the crowd on the flight deck, Garfield merely demanded, “So, who’s going to run this?”
To his surprise, it was Doctor Fate who presented himself. “I had thought I would, but there are some even more qualified than I am.”
“Wonder Woman?” Garfield asked in surprise, seeing her approach.
“Not I, Garfield Logan.” Four shapes coalesced behind her. “May I present to all the goddesses Aphrodite, Athena, Hecate, and Hera, queen.”
Most of the crowd made at least a token bow.
“Fear not, Garfield Logan, your love shall be returned to you,” Aphrodite stated.
“We shall design the format,” Hera stated, cutting in. “Hecate, Athena, Doctor Fate, attend me.”
Aphrodite came over and smiled at Garfield. “While they are designing the ceremony, take heart from those who are here for you.”
The rest of the crowd stepped back as symbols and designs were quickly drawn onto the surface of the large space. As they were doing so, Richard placed his hand on Garfield’s shoulder. “They know what they’re doing.”
“Yeah,” Garfield complained, “they might get her back, but who’s going out to actually get her?”
“The Green Lanterns,” stated Bruce Wayne from behind his adopted son. “They arrived at the station a few minutes ago, and should be here soon.”
“Actually, they’re here now,” Victor stated, relief in his voice.
Garfield turned towards the station entrance, expecting at least the four Lanterns still assigned to the sector. He was shocked when he saw that fifty, including three Guardians, were coming towards him.
“The Lantern Corps keeps its promises,” one of the Guardians told him when they got to the group around Garfield. “Every survivor is precious. When Senior Green Lantern Jordan asked if he could call for volunteers, far too many answered. These are the most who could be spared.”
Athena came up to the group. “In sixty-three Earth minutes, the window of opportunity shall open. Will all the Corps be outside?”
“They shall, as well as two Guardians,” the blue being responded. “I shall remain to coordinate.”
“We will be able to add your power to the Ritual, if you permit it.”
“If it will not cause interference in my relaying of information, it shall be so.”
“It will not.”
“There should be someone else out there,” Bruce mused, looking around the crowded space.
“There will actually be three more,” came a voice from the door. Turning, they saw that Superman, Supergirl, and Superboy were standing there. “Sorry, we had to handle a small problem on the way in. We left a space pirate ship disabled out near Alpha Centauri. We’ll pick them up after this is over.”
“Coordinate with my fellow Guardians for your placement,” the Guardian instructed.
“All right, everyone!” Doctor Fate called. “We’re going to show you your places. Remember them, and then take any trips to the rest room you might need. Once the ritual starts, many of you will be unable to leave!”
The center of the ritual symbols was a pentagram. Athena, Aphrodite, and Hecate would stand at three of the points, Doctor Fate at a fourth. Garfield was placed at the fifth, the one pointing in the general direction Raven should appear in. Hera and the Guardian were placed in ritual circles connected to the pentagram, while the other three Titans were placed at the center of the design. Those with strong connections to Raven or those in the pentagram had set places behind Hera and the Guardian – the former members of Titans East, Bruce Wayne and Wonder Woman, Garfield’s foster mother Rita ‘Elasti-Girl’ Farr (the other members of the Doom Patrol had not made the trip), Kid Flash, and, to her surprise, Jinx.
“We will only be tapping into your raw powers and positive feelings,” Hecate assured her. “Do not fear, young Jinx, you will not ‘jinx’ the rescue.” The others were ranged behind the group of directly linked supporters and would be the only ones who could move about once the ceremony started, providing of course that they not approach the ritual area itself.
The rescuers were given the first chances to use the rest rooms, and then they deployed to their positions, the closest some ninety kilometers from the station, the furthers a further hundred and fifty kilometers away, forming a sphere. The super trio could not speak in deep space, of course, but they had communicators which would relay coded messages and brief texts.
“It is nearly time,” Hera finally announced. The people started moving into position along the laid-out symbols.
“The window of opportunity will open in less than three minutes,” Doctor Fate told them. “Raven will likely wait at least nine minutes, which is when the portal should be fully stabilized. She will then have at least fifteen minutes, more likely twenty-one, before it begins to degrade. She should have between seventy-five and eighty-seven minutes in total.”
“How long will it take her to come through once she starts?” Bruce asked, more to remind everyone concerned than to check if the information he had was still accurate.
“Less than a second,” Athena answered. “It is like taking a step.”
“It is time for us to help open the portal,” Hera commanded.
*
“She has left,” Nelson told the group. Sonam and the other mystics gathered used a ritual that sealed the portal, something they had not told Raven they were doing, as they had been unsure of their success.
When they were done, Sonam stood and addressed his group. “Raven is strong, and will survive. Be content that we had her with us for over two years. Come, Mister Nelson, we must cleanse the symbols from her room.”
*
“The portal is being used,” Hera stated. She had informed the group that once the window of opportunity opened, with one exception only she would speak unless someone felt there was a problem. All present were connected, but most could not interpret what they were sensing. “She is through, and the portal is closed, and sealed.” The ritual now channeled its power into locating Raven and calling out to her.
The exception was the Guardian. After fifteen seconds, she reported, “A large black field outlined in white in the shape of a bird formed when she came through, which immediately dissipated. A black sphere of power has been located by three Green Lanterns at what had been its center.”
At that moment, all those directly connected ‘heard’ Raven speak in their minds. “Garfield!” The lack of panic or pain in her voice assured the group that Raven’s sphere had made the transition intact.
“Green Lantern Trainer Kilowog has made contact with her power sphere and is starting to push it towards the station,” the Guardian announced. “They are a hundred and thirty-two kilometers from the airlock . . . now. Her power is interfering slightly with the power of the ring. They are therefore moving slowly, and he is unable to surround the sphere with his power.”
A few seconds later, the Guardian reported, “Both Guardians and eleven other Lanterns are now in support. Should the trip take too long and the sphere dissipate, she will be immediately rescued and transported to the station. Kilowog is now moving at approximately thirty kilometers an hour.”
“No one panic!” Hera commanded, feeling the fear level around her rise. “The situation is far from ideal, but it is still well within the limits of safety.”
The seconds ticked by, and suddenly all heard Raven’s cry of, “BEAST BOY!” Only the points of the pentagram heard the rest: “I love you.”
“Superman has arrived to assist Green Lantern Kilowog, and their speed has now doubled. Going any faster instantly would cause the sphere to dissipate. They will, however, try and slowly increase their speed. They should reach the airlock just before it dissolves, if the estimate of the optimum time Raven sent in the exchange was accurate and she achieves that. If it does dissolve early, please remember that the other eleven Green Lanterns are there to insure a rescue.”
“The ritual is ended,” Hera announced. “Now, we can only await their arrival.” They had successfully helped open the portal, and then sealed it behind Raven from their side, which would help her conserve at least a little power for the sphere she was in. They had also helped locate her, and made enough contact so that they, and hopefully she, knew all was as well as was possible.
“Come on, Garfield,” Victor said. “Richard, Star, come with us. Someone mystical should come with us, too, in case the bubble is still intact and we have to dissolve it in the air lock.”
Hera nodded to Doctor Fate, and he joined the group going towards the airlock.
“The atmosphere will be hot and oxygen enriched once it is established after the airlock closes,” Victor told them. “Make sure there aren’t any sparks.” Starfire knew this was mostly directed at her. She would ensure her star bolts were under her total control, no matter what the situation.
The small group left the others. Wonder Woman turned to Bruce. “Time?”
“Six minutes, twenty-one seconds,” he answered. Wonder Woman looked towards the goddesses present.
“They are a bit more than a quarter of the way here, Diana,” Athena answered the unasked question.
“Even if the sphere collapsed at this moment, she should sustain no lasting damage,” the Guardian told the group. While somewhat reassuring, it wasn’t totally so. After all, ‘no lasting damage’ was very different than a truly safe arrival.
*
“Whoa, Garfield!” Victor grabbed the anxious young man by the shoulder. “You too, Star! You both know better than try and go through a sealed air lock! See, it’s depressurized.”
“Sorry,” Garfield muttered.
“Yes, we are most anxious to see our friend!” Starfire agreed. She frowned. “I should have gone with them and hurried them along!”
“You can maneuver in deep space, but you aren’t as agile as the Lanterns or Superman,” Victor reminded his friend.
Starfire crossed her arms and merely gave the empty chamber a dirty look. Down the corridor from them, Richard saw a small medical team was assembled. Hopefully, they would not be needed. “Time?” he asked Victor.
“Eight minutes, twelve seconds.” There was no one they could ask about how fast the rescue might be operating. All they could do was wait.
For Garfield, this was perhaps the second worst wait of his life, after the one he had endured when Raven travelled to the other dimension. Then, he knew that failure to transport to the station meant either her leaving to become an exile, or death, and that he might not know which for months. The seconds waiting to see if the transporter would lock on had been fewer, but even more nerve-wrecking.
Now, Raven was alive; Raven was nearing. The question was, how good of shape would she be in? Would she be injured? The other questions: how she might have changed, how her feelings might have changed; those questions would have to be put off for at least a short time. Other questions, like if they had a future together, and if so, doing what and where, might be even further removed from having a timely answer.
Time would tell.
Was time passing as slowly as it felt, or was it speeding towards disaster? Garfield looked at his friend.
“I’ll say when twelve minutes have passed,” Victor stated. “Doing a countdown will do nothing for our nerves.”
“Look at me,” Richard told his friend. “Look me right in the eyes, and take slow, deep breaths. In . . . out . . . in . . . out . . . that’s right. Keep doing that. Relax as much as you can. Even in as a deep trance as she should be in, Raven might pick up your feelings, and that feeling can’t be panic. In . . . out. Just concentrate on your breathing, and on your feelings for her. Close your eyes and let her know you’re waiting for her, Gar. In . . . out.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Richard saw two things. First, that the outer entrance to the airlock was opening, meaning the rescue party was approaching. Second was Victor biting his lip, meaning the countdown was getting close. Even if Superman was able to get the party near the station in time, they would still have to slow down to enter the airlock.
“That’s twelve minutes,” Cyborg softly said, breaking their concentration on Garfield’s breathing exercises.
“Don’t panic,” Richard ordered, tightening his grip on Garfield. “Keep breathing!”
“The first of the Lanterns has entered!” Starfire squealed.
The rest of the group looked into the chamber as two other Lanterns entered the airlock. It could be seen that they were talking, but of course they couldn’t hear what was being said.
Then a complete green sphere was squeezed into the chamber, followed by the Green Lantern controlling the sphere and Superman.
Superman hit the switches which closed the outer airlock, and as soon as it was fully engaged, heated oxygen-rich air was pumped into the room. That process took over a minute. Finally, a buzzer sounded, and Kilowag let the green sphere and the energy around him both drop. The other Lanterns did the same.
Raven was collapsed in an unmoving heap on the deck.
The medical team pushed passed the heroes and into the air lock.
“It actually collapsed just as the air lock opened,” Superman said. “The other Green Lanterns completed the bubble and turned it over to Kilowog. She was exposed to open space for at most a second, and was airless for two seconds or less.”
*
Slowly, Raven came out of her trance. After a moment of stillness, she started to pay attention to her senses.
First of all, it seemed silent, and all she could hear was her breathing. ‘Well, no screams of damned souls at least,’ she thought. Next, she realized that she was lying on something comfortable. She was unbound in anyway, the slight weight on her nude body was a sheet, or something similar. That was only somewhat reassuring, especially considering the nudity. ‘I feel like a corpse that has been laid out,’ she thought. ‘No, if that were the case, the sheet might be over my head, and I certainly wouldn’t be breathing.’ Taking a deep breath, Raven could detect no obvious odors. ‘No brimstone, either.’ She took another deep breath. ‘I’m breathing, I can feel my heart beat – all signs point to being alive. I know I came through to somewhere, and I’m pretty sure it was open space somewhere near the station, so I should be there.’
Concentrating, Raven could hear the faint sound of air circulating through at least two vents, but the only scent in the air was from her own nervous sweat. Raven opened her eyes to darkness, but after a moment she could tell it was far was total.
Finally moving, Raven sat up, keeping the sheet in place. She saw she was in a small bedroom of some sort – there was only the narrow bed, a small chest of drawers, a desk with a comm station on it, and two sliding doors, one of them open. What little light there was came from the open door, obviously some sort of night light.
Hoping it was some type of bathroom, Raven nervously slipped out of bed and moved towards the open door, noting that the gravity was a bit less than she was used to, which, if she remembered correctly, likely meant she was in an outer area of the station. She was grateful to see that the door did lead to a toilet, and that there was a sink and a small shower unit as well. Turning on the overhead, she saw there were also some clothes folded on a shelf next to the sink. She shut the door, used the facilities, and after reading the instructions, took a quick shower.
She dressed in the loose clothes provided and went back to the bedroom, where she saw a pair of canvas deck shoes was under the desk. As she slipped them on, she also saw the comm unit was activated. She clicked on the message icon.
-Welcome back, Raven! Hit respond, and Garfield will be notified you are ready to receive visitors.-
Raven smiled.
She was home.
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