My eyes glaze over the lush scenery that surrounds Myrberg Station. A variety of mountains extend beyond my peripheral vision, implying that they're behind me as well, but I can't see too much as they're covered in trees and shrubbery. Behind us is a station house, and the dirt track in front of me is quiet—too quiet.
My foot taps to the rhythm of the song stuck in my head, and I nod my head softly to it as well as I wait for the team of heroes Raven and I are supposed to be meeting. They should be here by now, unless I have no sense of time whatsoever. The latter is entirely possible.
I share a glance with the half-demon and she shakes her head, rolling her eyes—not at me, but at the unpunctual team—before looking away once more. Sighing, I flip open my communicator to see that they're over five minutes late, before dialling Robin's device.
"Ember calling Robin. Over."
Instantly, the screen turns on, but it's not the Boy Wonder I'm met with. A familiar green face covers the entire screen, Beast Boy grinning at me through the camera. "Robin's communicator. May I help you?"
I smile tiredly at the shapeshifter and sigh. "Beast Boy, there's a reason I called Robin, not you."
Beast Boy's smile disappears slightly and he looks around, grimacing before turning back to me. "Uh, your boyfriend's fighting crime at the moment. Between you and me, he's getting his butt kicked." I snort at the green teen's bluntness before allowing him to continue. "Is it urgent?"
"Yes, Beast Boy. It's urgent."
"Okay. Uh..." Beast Boy looks around once more but when he doesn't find whatever or whoever it is he's looking for he looks back at the communicator and asks, "perhaps I can be of assistance?"
Wearily, I glance at Raven. Steam may as well be billowing out of her ears as her eyes flare white, hair on the verge of flailing about. She nods once and once only, and I look away. "We're not sure that we're in the right place."
Beast Boy frowns. "You should be. That's the pickup spot."
Raven snatches the device from me, and Beast Boy's face lights up at the sight of her. "What if they don't show?" she questions, blissfully unaware of this. "Are we supposed to just hang around here in the middle of nowhere forever?"
"Stay put," Beast Boy orders on the Boy Wonder's behalf. "Robin's trusting you both to meet that team and take them to the place where the Brotherhood of Evil can't get to them."
Just then, a car appears on the road, kicking up clouds of dirt as it moves towards us. Raven hands the communicator back to me and I pocket it, eyes fixed on the vehicle ahead. It turns out to be a charter bus, which drops off only three kids before driving away once more.
I walk in the direction of the departing bus, waving my hands. "Hey!" I call out, before turning back to Raven and muse, "Maybe they weren't on the bus."
Raven hums. She either doesn't notice the children or simply ignores them—I honestly can't tell which of the two options it is. It's only when the ginger boy pulls on her cloak that she turns around with a confused hum.
"Are you Ember and Raven?"
My eyebrows shoot into my hair and I turn to Raven, who lets out a long sigh as her cheeks flush red in anger. "You've gotta be kidding," she says, before fishing out her communicator and squeezing the life out of it before pressing the 'ON' button. "Robin!"
"Robin's communicator. May I—?"
"Put Robin on," Raven snaps. When Beast Boy hesitates, her eyes turn white and her entire face burns with the red intensity of her cheeks. "NOW!"
"Uh, he's kind of in the middle of something," Beast Boy states, keeping his cool through Raven's fit of rage. In the background, I see Robin fighting one of the Brotherhood of Evil's robots. He steps back to avoid a blast, but I look away as Raven speaks up once more.
"Well, tell him I don't do babysitting."
"Raven told me to tell you she doesn't babysit!" Raven and I wait, with varying levels of patience, until Beast Boy turns back to us with what the cloaked girl considers to be the bad news. "Robin says you have to."
"Can't someone else do it?" Raven pleads. "Starfire likes people, or Cyborg. Ember likes people too; she'd do great by herself, I'm sure."
I raise an eyebrow at the Titan next to me. "Thanks?" I croak out, before turning to Beast Boy. "Don't—" I cut the shapeshifter off, "—hold me to that."
"Why do I have to be here?"
"Everyone else is on other missions, and Robin said both of you need to do this," Beast Boy emphasises. "It's important that these kids get to safety. You're gonna have to—"
Beast Boy looks up with a frightened look and the connection cuts out. Raven sighs and pulls her hand down, and I turn to the three kids before picking up the youngest one and cradling him in my hands.
"Are you gonna help us as well, lady?" the oldest one, and the only girl, asks.
"Which one are you?"
"Melvin."
"Melvin, huh? You're the leader of this team?"
"I guess. They're always following me around."
"All right, Melvin. I'll take you and your team to the drop-off, but that's it."
I walk over to Raven, child in hand, and knee her in the leg. She looks at me and I shoot her a scolding look. "What Raven means—" I muster my most polite tone whilst still glaring at the cloaked girl, "—is we're gonna make sure nothing bad happens to you. Does that sound okay?"
"Mhmm."
An engine sounds through the alps and I look up to see a train, now softly bouncing the young kid. The ginger grabs Raven's right hand and Melvin grabs her left, holding her other hand up as if she's holding another hand.
"Whose hand are you holding, Melv?"
Melvin looks up at me, dead serious. "Bobby's."
"Bobby's hand?" I try not to sound judgemental as I add, "Where's Bobby?"
"He's right here," Melvin pouts, jerking her head towards empty space. I narrow my eyes slightly at where Bobby's supposed to be before shaking my head.
"Okay." Assuming Bobby is Melvin's height, I force myself to look at his face and smile. "Hi, Bobby."
There's a pause, and then Melvin appears to squeeze Bobby's hand. "Bobby says hi."
I sigh and nod numbly, looking down at the child in my arms. He's already asleep, and so I stop bouncing him and instead walk towards the train, which has now stopped inside the station. After a few moments, I turn around and glance at Raven before beckoning for the others. "Come on."
Raven sighs and mutters something under her breath before being dragged along by Melvin and the ginger. She shakes her head to move the hairs away from her face, eyes widening as they lock with mine.
"Help," she mouths.
I smile at her before turning around, walking away briskly and leaving Raven with the other two children—three, if she wants to count Bobby. The smacking of shoe against concrete tells me Raven's following, and probably pulling Melvin and the ginger with her. She finds the carriage I've seated myself in, sitting next to me after helping the two children to the seat opposite us.
"Just a two-hour train ride, and it'll all be over," she mutters to herself, gazing out the window. After a while, she turns to the kids. "You've all got powers? What can you do?"
"Bobby can dance," Melvin pipes up. "Wanna see?"
"Uh, no," Raven states flatly.
The kid in my arms finally wakes up, staring at me with his baby blue eyes. "You wanna go over there with your brother and sister?" I ask sweetly, slowly standing up. He lets out an excited squeal as I set him down in between Melvin and the ginger. "There you go."
The boy turns around, taking in his surroundings before snatching the ginger's blanket with his teeth. "Mine!"
"Boy, you woke up fast," I huff, blowing my hair out of my face as I lean forward, ready to intervene at any time.
Unsurprisingly, the ginger isn't happy with this new arrangement of his blanket becoming his brother's next meal, and tries to snatch it out of his mouth. "Gimme!"
I feel Raven tense beside me. When I turn to look at her, I notice her eyebrow quivering and a vein throbbing on her forehead. She clenches her fists and stares daggers at the two boys, trying to fight the temptation to blow her lid. The attempt fails.
"QUIET!!"
This catches the children's attention. The blanket leaves the youngest's mouth and the ginger takes the time to snatch it before the half-demon speaks next, grinning maliciously at his younger brother.
"We're going to play a game. It's called 'Don't Bother Raven'. Rule number one... no talking!"
"Raven, lighten up," I tell her. "They're just kids."
"Yeah," she snaps. "They're kids, and I don't do kids." I stare at the cloaked girl before snapping my mouth shut, and she closes her eyes. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos..."
I watch as the children stand up slowly, and Melvin holds her finger to her mouth. I shake my head and hold a hand out, reluctant to use my powers against the kids. Eventually, I decide against it and chase after them as they walk out the door, deciding not to alert Raven for fear that she'll take it out on them.
I walk through the main carriage, keeping an eye out for any one of the three kids—preferably Melvin, since she'll be able to find the others with ease if I ask her to. Unfortunately, it's not Melvin I find, but the youngest child that I put to sleep earlier. He's chewing on the couch, and I pull him out slowly.
"Hey," I coo, rocking him in my arms once more. "Hey, it's okay. We've gotta find your brother and sister, yeah?" I smile at the child, whose grown more drowsy. "Yeah. Come on."
Raven walks into the compartment, looking at me in confusion. "Why didn't you get me to help?"
I sigh. "Did you wanna help?"
Raven shrugs, just as the compartment begins to shake. A racket sounds that, considering the youngest child is in my arms, almost asleep, could only belong to one person.
The ginger.
I push my way through to the noise, opening the door to a wailing diner on the ground, clutching his blanket like a lifeline. He doesn't stop crying, not even when Raven and I enter the room.
"Whose kid is that?" passengers mutter amongst themselves.
"What a brat!"
"My child never threw a tantrum."
I want desperately to fire back at the passengers, but restrain myself as Raven grabs the ginger. She begins to drag him by his blanket, ignoring his cries, but stops when I snap, "Raven!"
"What?"
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Uh... helping?"
I groan quietly and grab the ginger's free hand, allowing him to hold his blanket. "It's like I have four kids," I mumble, rubbing circles on the back of the boy's hand as we walk to the doors. Raven opens them for us so that we can look for Melvin next.
Fortunately, she's in the next carriage up, and Raven's expression sours as she storms towards the blonde girl angrily. "Melvin! What are you doing in here?"
"Bobby couldn't fit in our car," she explains, gesturing to thin air—it must be where Bobby is.
"Just squish your imaginary friend down, and let's go back to our seats." Raven rolls her eyes as Melvin stands up, aggravated by the proclamation that her imaginary friend is just that—imaginary.
"Bobby is real!" she spits. Her ear perks up and she looks to her right, cupping her hand as she says, "Yeah. The blue girl is scary."
Raven growls and I resist the temptation to laugh. "Melvin, it's okay. She's just trying to help you."
I walk over to Melvin and she narrows her eyes at me. I almost think she doesn't trust me but her gaze lands on her content brother in my arms. It follows my hand to the ginger boy, and her eyebrows knit together in concern.
"Timmy's gotta go."
"Go?"
Raven looks down, past me. "What do you mean, he's gotta—?"
I follow the two girls' line of sight and let go of the ginger boy—whose name must be Timmy—as he begins to squirm under my grip. Raven and I lock eyes and our disgusted expressions seem to match as we concurrently sigh.
"Ohhh."
~~~
The train rumbles as it passes a waterfall, and the sound wafts through an ajar window. As an elderly man walks out of the mens' bathroom, Timmy bolts in, and the four of us wait—five, if we're counting Bobby.
Raven taps her foot and after a few minutes of nothing, she knocks on the door. If I didn't know better, I'd say she was concerned. "You okay in there?" Timmy answers by flushing and opening the door, with Raven's front hardening once more. "If you're done, can we get back to our seats now?"
The cloaked girl storms off and Melvin begins to laugh at her brother. Looking down at the child in my arms, I ask, "What's his name?"
"Uh, Timmy."
I shake my head. "No, this one."
Melvin looks up at her youngest brother. "Oh. That's Teether."
I nod, allowing Melvin to grab my other hand as I lead her and Timmy down the hall. We only make it halfway to our carriage before the ginger breaks down completely, sinking to the floor and staining the carpet with his tears.
"Oh, Timmy." I reluctantly put Teether on the floor and he gets to his hands and knees, staring up at me with wide eyes. "Here. Did you want to hold my hand? Is that it?" In between sniffles, Timmy nods and reaches out for my hand. I let him take it and pull Teether back into my arms. "Melvin, you good?"
"Monkey Man!" Timmy says in awe, dragging me with him.
From down the hall, I hear Raven's voice. "Timmy, what's a monkey man?"
"Raven," I mumble as I look up. She whirls around and stares at the gorilla on the other side of the window, and my grip on the two boys tightens.
"Mallah!"
Monsieur Wallah smashes through the carriage, and I run backwards to Raven. "Give me the children!" he growls, standing over us menacingly.
I'm forced to let go of Timmy's hand as Raven shouts, "Run!" Melvin and Timmy do just that and Raven and I follow, Teether in my arms. The cloaked girl leads me into a rocky carriage, sealing the door shut as Melvin speaks up.
"Quick, hide!"
"We don't have time for games!" Raven retorts.
The door smashes open and Raven, Teether and I are thrown back as Monsieur Mallah storms into the room. He appears not to see us as he searches the carriage for the children. "Come out, come out, wherever you are."
He nears where the other two children were hiding, and I stand up with Teether. "I mean, if you insist," I mock. My eyes flare white and the tables pull themselves from the ground, aimed at the gorilla. He's thrown back as Melvin and Timmy stand up, groaning in disgust and moving as far from each other as possible.
"Ewww!"
The two children run into the next room, Raven and I hot on their heels. They continue running until Monsieur Mallah crashes through the roof, growling at us all. Raven extends her hand and creates a large, black one, and it grabs Monsieur Mallah by the head and pushes him back. Raven's second hand joins her first and the gorilla is swarmed with metal bars, and I usher the kids on.
"Bobby! Come on!" Melvin shouts, stopping in the middle of the hall.
Raven whirls around, eyeing her in desperation to hurry up and leave, and I find myself doing the same. "We can't stop now!"
"I'm not going without Bobby!" the girl whines stubbornly, glaring at Raven.
The half-demon huffs before grabbing her wrist and dragging her along to the end of the train. The carriage rocks and I almost fall over before putting Teether down behind a stack of crates, in between Melvin and Timmy. Raven turns around and puts her hood on, walking in the direction of Mallah, and I run to catch up to her.
We stand together, waiting by the door, but the gorilla swings in by the side and takes Raven out. "Raven!" I call, gaining Monsieur Mallah's attention. He swings at me but I duck, red flames pooling in the palms of my hands, before launching at him. The gorilla dives to the side before grabbing me by the waist, claws digging into my skin, and throwing me out of the train.
My stomach hits a rock instantly, knocking the wind out of me. I scowl and look up at the departing train, having no choice but to chase after it. I can only hope Raven's made her way back to the children before the gorilla's found them.
My confusion and concern only grows when the back carriage—the same one we were fighting Mallah in—separates from the rest of the train. It makes my job of catching up far easier, and I'm quick to dive through the hole in the wall.
"He did it!" Melvin cries, throwing her hands up in the air. My nose crinkles in confusion until she adds, "Bobby just saved us!"
Timmy and Teether bolt to Melvin's side, and the trio cheer ecstatically. As I walk over to Raven, I eye her cautiously and her eyes narrow in annoyance as she turns to the children.
"We're stranded in the middle of nowhere and we've got a big gorilla chasing after us," she deadpans. "How are we saved?"
Her harsh tone takes a toll on the girl and boys, and they glance at each other briefly as unshed tears form behind their eyes. They begin to wail hysterically, tears soaking their clothes, Timmy's blanket, and the ground.
I hold my hand out, eyes flaring blue, and the children's tears begin to lift off their faces. In order to not alarm them, I slowly walk over, before squatting and grabbing Melvin by the biceps softly.
"We're gonna be okay, you hear me?"
Through her tears, the blonde looks up at me and nods softly, but her cries don't relent. I wrap her into a hug and shoot Raven a look that prompts her to—albeit reluctantly—traipse over to the two boys and lock them in her embrace for a few moments.
~~~
After hours of walking—or a combination of walking, flying, and sitting on a rock in my case—a brown shack begins to become visible on the horizon. Raven, Melvin, and Timmy leaves three pairs of footprints in the snow, as the half-demon carries Teether in her hand.
"It's past Timmy's bedtime, and we missed dinner," Melvin whines, still gripping Bobby's hand like a lifeline.
Raven looks up at the old house. "We'll stop here for the night." Her eyes glow black and the door unlocks before swinging open with a loud creaking noise.
I instantly feel drawn to the fireplace, edging closer and closer. The others spread out through the room, and I sit down cross-legged in front of the log-filled chimney. With a small smile, small fires jump off my skin and onto the logs, setting them alight in a controlled display. Melvin and Timmy walk over to the fireplace in a trance, and after making sure they're being safe, I walk over to Raven—whose in the kitchen, tossing between different saveable foods.
"Hmm. What's for dinner? Peas... carrots... beans... more beans..."
In between pulling cans out of the cupboards, she's handed Teether over to me, and I bounce him in my hands on the way to the table. As I set him down and tuck the chair in, Raven comes over with several spoons in her hands.
"No... no... no..." Teether begins, before chanting the word over and over.
"I don't know what he wants!" Raven says, eyes wide as she looks at me and clutches her head. We both turn back to the chair to see no Teether, and find him chewing on a shoe on the other side of the home. "Weird."
Panted cries fill the room, before the pitter patter of Timmy's feet. In tears once more, he glances between Raven and I, holding his blanket tighter than ever. "My... blankie... you... see... my... blankie?"
Raven looks at me in confusion. "Yes, I see your blankie," she states coldly.
"Do you like it?" I add, trying to relieve tension.
"My... blankie... see?"
Teether throws the shoe under the bed and storms towards Timmy, the two of them wailing their lungs to exhaustion. I frown, groaning as I pull Timmy to my lap amidst his tears.
"Uh, there, there," Raven offers. I watch as the loud noises slowly fuel her anger and she storms off, clutching her ears to block it all out. The blonde walks up to Raven, tugging on her cloak before I can call her and tell her to stop.
"Raven, you forgot to feed Bobby."
"Bobby doesn't need food. He's not real!"
"Yes, he is!"
"Fine," Raven huffs. "Bobby can have my dinner."
Melvin frowns, despite having gotten what she wanted in the first place. "Bobby's not in here," she states, gesturing beyond the walls and the door. "He has to stay outside 'cause he's too big."
"Of course," Raven drones. "Bobby's outside."
Raven and I both stand up, and I grab the baby before pulling him into my hands. I turn to look at Melvin, who has an unsatisfied expression plastered on her face. "We'll go feed Bobby, okay, Melvin?" I say, and the girl nods cautiously. "Can you watch Timmy for a bit? I'll take Teether with me."
"Okay."
"Thank you."
Raven's already outside, having sat on the porch and placed her food to the side. She pulls out her communicator as I move the plate further to the side and sit beside her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear nervously.
"Raven calling anyone!"
"Raven! Ember!"
The cloaked girl groans at the sight of the shapeshifter, vein protruding from her forehead as she glowers at the screen. "Anyone other than Beast Boy."
"Did you guys finish your mission?"
"Not yet," I cut in, speaking matter-of-factly. "Mallah showed up. We had to deviate from the original plan, but the team should be safe by tomorrow."
"If I survive the night," Raven adds from my side, moaning in anticipated pain.
"Wait—why do you have a kid, Em?" Beast Boy inches closer to the screen, until it's all we see, before creating a magnifying glass with his fingers and staring me down accusingly. "Is there something I don't know about?"
"Beast Boy," I warn. The Titan grins and I can't help but smile back. "The team's a group of kids."
"I don't get why you're complaining, then," Beast Boy muses. "Kids are easy."
"That's because you are a kid."
"Nu-huh. All you gotta do is make silly faces. Oh, a-and kids love jokes. This one never fails. Why did the cookie go to the doctor?" When the half-demon doesn't reply, instead staring at him with a bored look, he whispers, "You're supposed to ask why."
Raven looks around, scrutinising our every surrounding before turning back to Beast Boy as a last resort. "... Why?"
"He went because he was feeling a little crumb-y," Beast Boy manages, in between chuckles. "Get it?"
Without so much as an acknowledgement for the green teen, Raven shuts her communicator off. "I guess we're on our own." She stands up abruptly—though I should have suspected she may have done something like that—and walks inside, leaving Teether and I alone.
The slam of the door wakes the youngest up and he instantly resumes the loud noises, and I cringe slightly as I look out at the mountains once more before turning around, bobbing Teether in an up-and-down motion as I head back inside.
"You don't babysit much, do you?" Melvin notes, staring up at Raven from her spot on the bed.
"You can tell?"
The small girl motions to me as I move beside the Titan. "She's good at it. You're not," she explains briefly.
"What's wrong with Timmy Tantrum over there?"
"His blankie's ripped."
Raven's features pull into a frown for the umpteenth time today as she eyes a stapler that really shouldn't be in the house. She rushes over to grab it, snatching Timmy's blanket from him on the way, before sewing it up with the stapler and throwing it back to him. The half-demon grabs his hand and drags him to the bed, throwing him on it, and I place Teether with his brother and sister.
"Now what?" she grumbles, after staring at the kids blankly.
"Well, you could tell us a bedtime story," Melvin innocently suggests. "Kids like stories."
"I don't really know any stories."
I sigh quietly. "I do." I walk forward, pulling the blanket back slightly before tucking the three children in and sitting on the bed beside them. They stare at me with adoration—apart from Timmy, who reeks of impatience—and I begin.
"Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Goldilocks. She was walking through the forest and she found a big house. When no one answered, she went in and found three bowls of porridge."
"What's porridge?" the redhead blurts out, angrily gripping his newly-fixed blanket.
"Well, Timmy... uh, porridge is like cooked oats," I explain, eyebrows furrowing as I struggle with the definition.
He shrugs in contentment. "Okay." This quickly turns to impatience once more as he begins to chant, "Story! Story!"
"Okay, okay," I say, holding my hands up in surrender and chuckling softly. Teether's eyes begin to flutter shut—I can't fathom how he's not as energetic as his brother, having been asleep all day—and Melvin cocks her head in intrigue.
"Goldilocks tried the first two porridges, which were too hot and too cold, but the third one was just right. She ate it all and went upstairs, where there were three chairs. The first one was too big, the second one was too small, but the third one was—"
"—just right?"
"Yeah, Melv. Have you heard this before?" The girl shakes her head and I shrug my shoulders. "Well, it was just right. So she sat into it, but it broke! So Goldilocks went upstairs once more to the bedroom. The first bed was too hard, the second too soft, but the third one was—
"—just... right..." Melvin mumbles once more. I look up from my intertwined fingers, having bundled them together during my retelling of the tale, to see the two boys already asleep. Melvin herself is on the verge, eyes shut but mouth moving at a snail's pace as she speaks.
"Yeah. Just right," I whisper. "Goodnight." I stare at the children for a few moments, admiring how they're not nearly as aggravating when they're asleep, but Raven pulls me back into reality with her words.
"How are you so good at this?"
I shrug. "The thing with kids is you have to entertain their fantasies. If they want an imaginary friend, for the love of God, let them have an imaginary friend. Okay?"
Raven rolls her eyes and stands up, heading to the kitchen. Since she gave her dinner to Bobby, it's a safe assumption that she's hungry. "Of course," she mutters, intentionally loud enough for me to hear. "Let them believe in someone that isn't real and crush their world by telling them the truth when it's too late."
"Hey," I chastise softly, careful not to wake the kids. "They're real to them. You don't know; maybe their imaginary friend is their only friend."
"Mmm," Raven hums. "Goodnight, Ember." Having predetermined who goes on watch first helps, and the half-demon walks to the door to act as our sentry for the first half of the night.
"Goodnight, Raven."
~~~
The five of us walk over to the abandoned chairlift, having not trekked nearly as much as we did yesterday. I run my finger on the railing, staring at the dust in slight shock as it covers all of my finger and more. It's definitely been a while since someone last used this.
"We can take this over to the other side," Raven states, reaching the red chair. The door is overtaken with black energy and opens, allowing us access to the chair's interior.
"Bobby says it doesn't look safe," Melvin says from behind.
"Of course it's safe. Get on."
I rub my eyes with my hands, almost fully awake. Raven had awoken me at two in the morning—as per our agreement—but I hadn't slept before that and I wasn't about to sleep on the job.
Melvin cautiously steps on the chair, and there's a few seconds of lag before the front of the chair dips immensely. I lift myself into the air instinctively, my hands already wrapped around the pole.
"Melvin!" Raven barks.
"Wasn't me," she deflects. "It was Bobby."
Raven groans, wrinkling her eyebrows, before bringing the chairlift to life. The engines start to move and then the chair does, too, carrying us all with it.
"You know," I begin, turning to the kids as they look outside. "Some people say if the chairlift stops and your chair is on one of these things—" to emphasise my point, I motion to the pillars that hold the chairlift and compartments on it upright "—it's good luck. You can make a wish."
"Really?" Melvin hums. "You hear that, Bobby?" She pauses, waiting for Bobby to reply, then turns to me. "Bobby says he still has a bad feeling. But that's cool, I guess."
"Monkey Man!" Timmy shouts, pointing to a carriage coming right towards us.
Sure enough, Monsieur Mallah sits atop it, ready to jump on our chair once he gets close enough. The chair rumbles under his weight, and we all glance up to the roof as the gorilla tears it apart and glances down at the kids almost hungrily.
"He's going to get us!" Timmy cries.
At the same time, Raven and I reply, "No, he is not." Our eyes both light up, albeit with different colours—mine are red and Raven's are white—and hold out our hands. The combined force is more than enough to send Monsieur Mallah flying but he grabs on at the last second, clinging by the walls.
I jump up without a second thought, but Raven spends one more moment in the carriage. "Stay in here!" she barks, talking to the kids, before floating up with me.
I spot Teether clinging to her cloak and when she inadvertently sends him flying, I stop the baby in the air before bringing him back down into the carriage. My eyes turn brown and create a kind of barrier, protecting them from jumping out curiously.
By then, Raven's hurled Monsieur Mallah over the edge, but we watch as he grabs the chairlift's rope and swings on it, slowly making his way back to us. I float off the ground and hold my hands out, shooting small icicles at the villain. This stops his ascension towards us but he begins to swing laterally, cleverly avoiding the threat before continuing.
"I told you to stay inside!" Raven shouts. I turn around to see a hole in the rock barrier and teether, sitting atop the rope and chewing on it. The cloaked girl grabs him and takes him back inside, but I stay out to protect the children.
"Monkey Man!" Timmy shouts.
And then we fall.
The group of four inside let out screams of terror as the rope finally breaks, courtesy of Teether's chewing. I'm not sure whether he saved us or doomed us, sprawled on my back on the roof. I hastily get up, hands gripping the roof for dear life. There's already a white energy glow around them, which transfers to the roof and gives me an idea.
My eyes begin to match the colour, and I can already feel the chair slowing as it free falls. It slows more and more, and once I'm confident in my ability to stop it mid-air, I turn to the massive hole in the roof. This time, I block it with rocks and reinforce it with thick sheets of ice. The screams from inside don't stop, and I wonder how the kids have the lung capacity to go on for so long.
The chair finally stops, before a soft click! indicates that it's come of the chairlift's hinges. "Is everyone okay?" I shout, as loud as the screams that I could definitely hear.
"Yeah," Raven shouts back, amidst the kids' chants.
"Do it again! Do it again!"
"No 'again'."
I lie on the roof, chest heaving from the physical exertion. Raven opens the doors and holds the children back, and I jump down quickly, eyes boggling at what I see.
"Ember," Melvin begins, gesturing to her not-so-imaginary friend, "meet Bobby."
~~~
Our group of six—since I now know Bobby is real—slowly edges closer and closer to the drop-off point we agreed on. I carry Teether in my arms, and hold Melvin's other hand. She holds the animated stuffed bear's hand as she always has, gripping it tightly in her small fingers.
"Are we there yet?" Timmy mumbles, half asleep already.
Raven frowns, which quickly turns into a small, almost guilty smile as she looks up. "There's the drop-off point. Finally. Come on."
"Bobby says he doesn't think it's safe here," Melvin states once we reach the double doors.
Raven sets Timmy in front of the entrance and I walk over with Teether, placing him with his brother. He grabs at my hands and I pick him up again, causing him to let out a content sigh.
"It's fine."
"But Bobby says—"
"For the last time, Bobby isn't real!"
I glance between the two girls as Bobby begins to become more translucent. The knowledge that since he's scared of Raven, he's at the very least apprehensive about me at least gives me closure as he slowly disappears completely for me.
"Yes, he is! And you just scared him away!" Melvin turns and begins to run in the other direction, chasing after her friend. "Bobby! Wait! Bobby, wait, come back!"
Raven lets out an exasperated sigh before turning into her soul self, disappearing within her cloak. I walk over to the two boys, paranoid that Mallah will show up and snatch them while my back is turned and the half-demon's attention is fixed on Melvin.
Melvin begins to scream as Raven picks her up, holding her under her wing. I raise an eyebrow as the cloaked girl as the blonde whines, "Let me go!"
"Nothing will make me happier," Raven retorts, finally reaching me. She grunts as Melvin elbows her in the stomach, still persisting with carrying the child. "Ow!"
Finally, she reaches me and rings a bell that I didn't even know was there. There's a bell?
"Yeah, there's a bell," Raven deadpans. I didn't even know I had said it out loud.
The door finally opens, revealing a collection of monks. Behind them is a torchlit hall, blazing brightly against the otherwise dark interior.
"Welcome," the monk nearest to the door says. "I have been awaiting your arrival."
"I'm sorry we're late." My apology falls on blank states and empty eyes, and I scratch the back of my neck nervously before picking Teether back up.
"They're all yours," Raven states.
"I shall take good care of them," the monk promises. "You need not worry."
Raven sighs. "Great. Guess that's it." She shoves Melvin and Timmy, whose eyes narrow as they walk over to the monks.
With slight reluctance, I walk over to the monks with Teether in my hands. I attempt to hand him over to the front monk, but Teether's grip on my clothes stops him from moving. He spits his dummy out of his mouth and right before it can hit me in the face, it stops mid-air.
"Bye-bye."
I shoot the baby a sad smile and pick up the dummy, wrapping it in my hand. "Bye-bye, Teether."
The monk takes Teether from me and the door shuts, blocking us out. Raven and I walk back in silence, both of us already missing the children.
"Teether's trying to take Timmy's blanket..." Raven mumbles, at the sound of Timmy screaming.
"Timmy just took it back," I cut in, when the wailing changes to that of Teether. The two of us wait for Melvin's shouting that Bobby can't possibly fit through the hallway, or Timmy screaming as Teether takes the blanket back, but we don't get it. "Nothing," I whisper, stopping in my tracks and staring at the dummy in my hand. "It's quiet."
"Too quiet," Raven adds. "We have to go back."
The half-demon doesn't even need to say it, though, because we're both already sprinting towards the door. Raven goes to hammer on it but I blast it open with a gust of wind, not caring for the loud smack! of the door against the walls. I run past the unconscious monks on the floor, dodging them with fancy footwork.
"Ember! Over here!" Raven calls out. I instantly fly towards her voice, looking over the railing at the three restrained children in a large vehicle that could only belong to the Brain—or a henchmen of.
"Say goodbye to your friends," Mallah teases, shutting the roof off and cutting the children from our view.
"Nobody messes with our kids!" Raven shouts.
The car starts as I jump off the railing, this time taking to the skies just as Raven does. Monsieur Mallah turns the vehicle around and speeds away, the two of us hot on its tail. Raven begins to creature ruptures in the path, and I do the same thing as my eyes glow brown.
The vehicle begins to fire at us, and I zip around to dodge it. The roof blocking the children from our view turns black before pulling off completely, and I rip off a small portion with ice pellets to use as a shield. Soon, it's heat seeking missiles that begin to fire at us, and my shield is broken as I avoid them once more.
Monsieur Wallah skids to a stop before turning the other way, now firing at us directly. Raven fires a beam which is quickly pushed against her, and I pull a wall up to try and prevent her from going to the ground. The beam of energy pushes the wall into her and she falls to the ground, limp, as the car turns to me.
My fireballs do no damage and I'm pushed on the defence, flying over to Raven to protect her as I fight. Now forced into a stationary position, I can't avoid the blasts without them hitting the lavender haired girl behind me. Grumbling under my breath, I too block the blast, but it only sees me toppling over the half-demon and landing behind her in a crumpled heap.
I can barely move my body, but I'm fully aware of what's happening around me through the kids' distinct voices. Their calls motivate me to move more—that is, if I could—but I slowly manage to get up as they speak, slowly moving closer to Raven.
"Bobby! You came back! Thank you!"
"Hey, you big ape!"
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size? Bobby, get him!"
The ground shakes and I feel something being placed on my back, on the side that's touching Raven. I smile as my fingers feel the blanket, slowly sitting up as she does so.
"Whoa," Raven whispers, in awe. "Bobby's real?"
Melvin smirks. "Told you so."
I look up and rub my eyes. I can see Bobby again—I don't even understand why I couldn't see him, then I could, then I couldn't, and now I can once more—and watch eagerly as he beats the holy hell out of Monsieur Mallah.
Eventually, the gorilla gets sick of having his butt handed to him, and presses a button that enables him to fly away, muttering, "This is the last time I work with children!"
Raven huffs and brushes the dust off her shoulders, and I follow her lead. "Thanks, Timmy. Thanks to all of you."
"Thank Bobby," Melvin replies. "He's the one who saved us."
Raven smiles. "Thanks, Bobby. Sorry I thought he was just your imaginary friend."
"Just because I imagined him doesn't mean he isn't real."
I frown, squatting to look at Melvin. "Why couldn't we see him?"
"Bobby was afraid of you first, so he was hiding. But now he thinks you're okay." Melvin turns to her friend and "Don't you, Bobby?"
Bobby flashes us a wicked grin, showcasing his every tooth. Both our communicators begin to ring and Raven pulls hers out to Beast Boy.
"Raven, Ember, is everyone safe?"
"Yeah," Raven sighs. "We're all fine."
Beast Boy nods. "Good, 'cause Robin needs you two right away for more missions."
"We can't. We've gotta watch the kids."
I pat Raven's shoulder and take the device out of her hands. "Raven, they'll be fine," I console.
"It's okay," Melvin adds. "You can go. Your friends need you."
As the two converse, I turn to Beast Boy. "We'll be right there. How are you guys going?"
The green teen smiles at me. "We're doing good. Oh—and guess what?"
I roll my eyes jokingly. "What?" I probe.
"I get to work with you on the next mission!!"
Beast Boy's words and the tone in his voice as he relays this to me fill me with happiness over the fact that he can't wait to spend time with me on a mission. It makes me believe that he missed me, and to be honest, I missed him too. "That's great! How'd you manage that?"
"I don't know! I think it's some kinda nature hike, or something."
"That'd make sense," I muse. I turn to Raven, who gives me the wave that she's ready to go. "Alright, Beast Boy, I've gotta go. I'll see you soon."
"See you soon."
The communicator flicks off just as Raven hands Melvin a communicator. My shoulder brushes against hers as the kids collectively tackle us, almost taking us both to the ground. I laugh softly as I pat Melvin's back before they're moved away from us.
"How are you so good with kids?" Raven questions.
I frown slightly at the bluntness of the query, but as we walk away I say, "It's just a matter of being able to empathise with them, I guess."
"You bit inanimate objects, too?" Raven teases, eyes wide as she places her face in a state of faux shock. She breaks it with a chuckle and a nudge in the side. "I'll have to warn Robin it could be genetic."
I laugh at her comment. "God, no. Not that." I shake my head, scratching my neck as I contemplate whether to open up. Eventually I chastise myself and open my mouth. "I was like Melvin, minus the bit about my imaginary friend being real. Just so lonely growing up that I made my own friend. Before Robin and you guys, he was the only thing keeping me going sometimes."
"Huh." She blinks, then blinks again, before a black disc appears under our feet. "You ready?"
"Away we go."